NO  GAINS  WITHOUT  PAINS. 


TRUE  LIFE  FOR  THE  BOYS. 


BY  H.  C.  KNIGHT. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE 
AMERICAN   TRACT   SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU-STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1856.  by  O.  R. 
KINGSBURY,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I 

TUE  OLD   HORSESHOE — LITTLE  DONKEY — THE   MOTHER'S 
PRAYER,          .        .        .        '.        ....        5 

CHAPTER  II. 
WHAT  TO  Do — LEAVING  HOME — TOE  APPRENTICESHIP,    .  27 

CHAPTER  III. 
BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS,       ....      49 

CHAPTER  IV. 
HIDDEN  LIFE — FIRE — THE  CHILDREN — DOING  GOOD,       .  72 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  POOR — A  SCDDEN  STROKE — HAPPY  ENDING,         .      97 


NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS, 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  OLD  HORSESHOE— LITTLE  DONKEY  — THE 
MOTHER'S  PRAYER. 

ONE  day  a  little  boy  on  his  way  to  school 
picked  up  an  old  horseshoe.  What  did  he  do 
with  it?  He  carried  it  three  miles  to  a  black- 
smith's shop,  and  sold  it  for  a  penny.  It  was 
the  first  penny  he  ever  had.  "No  gains  with- 
out pains,"  perhaps  he  thought.  He  did  not 
directly  go  and  spend  it.  He  laid  it  by ;  and 
we  will  see  how  he  added  to  it.  A  short  time 
afterwards,  a  man  who  had  been  watching* a 
boy  carrying  dirt  from  his  father's  door,  called 
Samuel,  for  that  was  our  little  boy's  name,  and 
told  him  if  he  would  beat  that  boy  in  carrying 


6  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

dirt,  he  would  give  him  a  penny.  Samuel  tried 
his  hand,  and  earned  the  wages. 

"Now,"  said  the  man,  "if  you  will  show  me 
this  same  penny  in  a  fortnight,  I  will  give  you 
another ;  and  I  will  make  a  mark  on  it,  so  as 
to  know  it."  He  marked  and  gave  it  to  Sam- 
uel, for  I  suppose  he  knew  how  boys  like  to 
spend,  and  he  had  a  mind  to  try  Samuel  on 
this  point.  In  a  fortnight  he  showed  the  man 
the  penny.  "There  it  is,  sir,"  said  he. 

"  Good,"  said  the  man ;  "  you  shall  have  anoth- 
er ;  you  know  how  to  keep,  as  well  as  to  earn." 

Samuel  now  had  three  pennies.  An  English 
penny  is  two  of  our  cents.  He  was,  therefore, 
according  to  our  currency,  worth  six  cents. 
Perhaps  you  would  like  to  know  a  little  more 
of  his  earnings.  One  day,  one  of  his  sisters,  in 
drawing  molasses,  let  a  quantity  run  over  the 
kettle  she  was  filling  on  to  the  floor.  She 
took  up  all  she  supposed  worth  saving,  and 
was  about  to  wash  up  the  rest,  when  Samuel 
asked  if  he  might  not  have  it ;  and  on  his  sis- 
t<jr's  giving  him  leave,  he  carefully  scraped  it 
up,  and  sold  it  for  three  half-pence.  How 
many  cents  is  that?  Three  cents :  he  has  now, 
then,  nine  cents. 


THE  OLD  HORSESHOE.  7 

"No  gains  without  pains,"  Samuel  thought, 
or  at  least  he  acted  upon  the  principle,  if  a 
penny  was  worth  having,  .it  was  worth  the 
trouble  of  earning.  I  am  afraid  all  boys  do 
not  think  so.  They  like  the  penny,  but  are  not 
willing  to  work  for  it ;  and  therefore  some 
boys  are  tempted  to  get  money  in  very  ques- 
tionable ways,  which  are  apt  to  lead  to  disgrace 
and  ruin. 

"What  did  Samuel  do  with  his  money?" 
some  one  may  have  the  curiosity  to  ask.  It  is 
pleasant  to  know  what  people  do  with  their 
first  earnings.  As  soon  as  he  had  enough,  he 
bo'ught  a  book  with  it,  a  hymn-book ;  and  then 
he  felt  as  rich  and  happy  as  could  be. 

Samuel  lived  in  England.  He  was  born  in 
the  little  village  of  Wrington,  ten  miles  south- 
west of  Bristol,  in  1794.  Bristol  is  a  large  city 
in  the  south-western  part  of  England,  one  hun- 
dred and  fourteen  miles  west  of  London.  When 
Samuel  was  seven,  his  parents  moved  to  Kings- 
wood,  a  village  on  the  edge  of  Bristol ;  and  as 
this  was  the  place  where  his  life  was  spent,  I 
must  stop  in  the  story,  and  tell  you  a  little 
about  Kingswood. 

In  old  times,  it  was  indeed,  what  its  name 


'8  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

signifies,  a  king's  wood ;  for  it  was  a  tract  of 
three  or  four  thousand  acres  of  land,  used  by 
the  king  and  his  nobles  for  a  royal  hunting- 
ground.  Besides  the  wild  beasts  which  roamed 
in  this  forest,  there  was  a  set  of  wild,  lawless 
men,  called  foresters,  who  had  their  haunts  in 
it.  They  were  a  terror  to  the  country  around, 
for  they  lived  by  plunder  and  robbery,  and  it 
was  often  dangerous  for  travellers,  unarmed 
and  alone,  to  be  found  near  this  wood  after 
nightfall.  But  in  the  course  of  years,  the  deer 
had  gradually  disappeared,  and  the  forest  and 
the  foresters.  The  reputation  of  the  place, 
however,  had  not  much  improved.  The  land 
had  been  turned  to  better  account:  for  coal- 
mines had  been  discovered,  which  supplied 
Bristol  and  the  neighboring  towns  with  fuel, 
and  supported  a  large  population  of  colliers — 
men  who  work  the  coal-pits — who  had  gradu- 
ally settled  on  the  soil.  Their  cottages  had 
been  put  up  without  much  regard  to  order, 
here  and  there  and  everywhere  ;  so  that  unless 
very  familiar,  in  trying  to  find  the  way  among 
them,  one  was  quite  sure  to  lose  it  among  the 
endless  number  of  narrow  lanes  :  crooked,  turn- 
ing, winding,  crossing,  and  branching  off.  in  all 


THE    OLD  HORSESHOE.  9 

directions.  It  was  indeed  a  jumble  of  a  town, 
if  it  could  be  called  a  town.  And  the  people 
were  as  disorderly  as  their  houses  were.  Bad 
as  the  foresters  had  been,  the  colliers  could 
beat  them  in  wickedness.  A  more  ferocious 
and  brutal  set  of  men  never  disgraced  a  Chris- 
tian land. 

When  the  famous  preacher  WHITEFIELD  was 
at  Bristol,  in  1739,  and  talked  of  coming  to 
this  country  to  convert  the  Indians,  some  peo- 
ple said,  '•  What  is  the  need  of  going  abroad 
for  this  object?  Have  we  not  savages  enough 
at  home?  If  you  have  a  mind  to  convert  Ind- 
ians, there  are  colliers  enough  in  Kingswood." 

These  remarks  made  a  deep  impression  upon, 
the  mind  of  this  good  man.  He  could  not  turn 
from  his  own  countrymen.  And  when  lie  rode 
over  to  Kingswood,  and  saw  what  the  state  of 
the  people  really  was,  he  felt  his  bowels  yearn 
over  them,  for  he  saw  them  as  sheep  without  a 
shepherd,  given  over  to  the  devouring  wolves 
of  sin  and  Satan.  Nobody  had  cared  for  their 
souls.  They  had  no  schools,  no  churches,  no 
Bibles,  no  preachers,  no  prayers.  Sunk  in  deg- 
radation and  dirt,  people  seemed  to  think  noth- 
ing could  be  done  to  improve  their. condition; 


10  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

and  although  on  the  edge  of  a  great  Christian 
city,  Bristol,  they  had  been  left  year  after  year, 
and  generation  after  generation,  to  grow  up 
and  die  in  their  wickedness. 

• 

But  when  Whitefield  came,  and  "Wesley,  and 
their  pious  coadjutors,  a  new  and  better  day 
broke  upon  the  darkness  of  Kingswood  ;  and  the 
success  of  their  labors  at  Kingswood  proved 
that  no  people  are  too  low  or  too  hardened  to 
welcome  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ.  . 

"Yes,"  said  Whitefield,  first  on  the  field, 
"something  can  and  must  be  done  for  these 
poor  people ;  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  came  into 
this  world  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost ;  if  so, 
the  Kingswood  colliers  are  just  the  people  to 
be  saved." 

In  this  spirit  he  went  one  afternoon  over  to 
the  collieries ;  it  was  on  Saturday,  February 
17,  1737,  and  a  memorable  day,  because  it  was 
the  first  day  the  gospel  was  ever  preached 
there.  His  church  was  the  open  air,  and  his 
pulpit  a  little  mound  of  earth.  About  two 
hundred  men,  women,  and  children  gathered 
gapingly  around  to  listen.  "Who  is  he?" 
"What  does  this  mean?"  they  asked  one  of 


THE  OLD  HORSESHOE.  11 

another.  "What  is  he  telling  about?  And 
they  run  out  of  their  cottages  and  stared  and 
hearkened. 

How  much  they  understood  the  first  day  I 
cannot  tell,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  were 
interested  and  pleased.  His  bright  eye  and 
beaming  countenance,  the  clear,  sweet  tones  of 
his  voice,  ringing  in  their  ears  words  of  love 
and  mercy,  words  of  God  and  heaven  and  hell, 
did  not  fail  to  attract  them.  He  must  have 
seemed  like  some  superior  being  come  on  an 
errand  of  good.  And  as  he  passed  by,  his  kind 
look  and  friendly  notice  of  one  and  another 
drew  hearts  towards  him.  How  they  looked 
wonderingly  after  him  until  out  of  sight;  in 
how  many  cottages  and  ale-houses  was  he  talked 
over  that  night. 

A  beginning  of  good  was  then  and  there  made 
at  Kingswood.  How  did  it  go  on  ?  On  White- 
field's  second  visit,  two  thousand  people  throng- 
ed to  hear  him.  On  his  third  visit,  from  four 
to  five  thousand. 

i(  The  trees  and  hedges  were  full,"  he  said ; 
"  all  was  a  hush  when  I  began  ;  the  sun  shone 
bright,  and  God  enabled  me  to  preach  over 
an  hour  with  great  power,  and  so  loud  that  all 


12  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

could  hear  ine.  Blessed  be  God!  To  behold 
such  crowds  standing  together  in  such  awful 
silence,  and  to  hear  their  singing  run  from  one 
end  to  the  other,  was  very  solemn  and  striking." 
"And  how  was  I  affected,"  he  again  says, 
"  when  I  saw  the  white  gutters  made  by  the 
tears  which  plentifully  fell  down  their  black 
faces — black  as  they  came  out  of  their  coal- 
pits." 

The  poor  colliers  showed  they  had  hearts  to 
feel  the  force  of  Bible  truths.  And  the  more 
they  heard,  the  more  they  wanted  to  hear. 
Sometimes  ten,  fifteen,  and  twenty  thousand 
people  are  said  to  have  crowded  around  this 
remarkable  preacher  during  his  field-preaching 
at  Kingswood.  Many,  I  suppose,  came  from 
Bristol  in  their  carriages,  and  on  horseback. 
Many,  like  Zaccheus,  climbed  up  into  the  trees. 
On  all  sides  they  pressed  to  hear  him. 

Mr.  Whitefield,  loath  to  leave  this  interesting 
and  important  field  of  labor,  and  yet  under  the 
necessity  of  leaving  to  meet  engagements  else- 
where, wrote  to  his  friend  John  Wesley,  beg- 
ging him  to  hasten  to  Bristol.  Wesley  obeyed 
the  call,  and  came  without  delay.  Preaching 
in  the  open  air,  or  field-preaching,  as  it  is  called, 


THE  OLD  HORSESHOE.  13 

was  something  altogether  new,  and  what  "Wes- 
ley had  never  yet  seen.  He  was  not  sure 
whether  he  could  approve  of  it.  It  seemed  to 
him  a  breach  of  order  and  propriety.  But 
when  he  saw  how  people  were  hungering  for 
the  truth,  and  that  no  church  could  hold  the 
multitudes  eager  to  hear,  he  was  thankful  for 
any  opportunity  of  preaching  to  them  Jesus 
Christ  the  Saviour  of  sinners. 

Besides,  he  remembered  how  his  Lord  had 
delivered  his  sermon  on  the  mount.  Accord- 
ingly, the  next  day  he  followed  the  example 
of  his  friend.  He  went  out  into  a  field,  and 
preached  to  a  congregation  of  three  thousand. 
It  was  something  he  never  was  sorry  for.  "  I 
have  since  seen,"  he  tells  us,  "  abundant  reason 
to  adore  the  wise  providence  of  God  herein, 
making  a  way  for  myriads  of  people  who  never 
troubled  any  church,  and  are  never  likely  to  do 
so,  to  hear  that  word,  which  they  soon  found  to 
be  the  power  of  God  unto  their  salvation." 

But  something  more  than  preaching  was  nec- 
essary. The  children  must  be  cared  for — the 
"  dear  lambs,"  as  "Whitefield  calls  them.  Could 
not  a  school  be  set  up?  This  Whitefield  pro- 
posed to  the  colliers.  The  poor  men  were 


14  NO  PAINS.  NO  GAINS. 

much  pleased,  and  promised  to  help  by  their 
money  or  their  work,  and  they  begged  him  to 
stay  and  lay  the  corner-stone  of  a  new  building 
for  that  purpose.  It  did  not  seem  very  clear 
where  the  money  was  to  come  from,  for  people 
were  not  as  ready  to  give  their  money  for  char- 
itable objects  then  as  they  now  are ;  but  both 
Whitefield  and  Wesley  had  a  great  deal  of 
faith  and  courage.  They  acted  much  upon  the 
principle,  Where  there  is  a  will,  there  is  a  way ; 
and  therefore  they  determined  to  lay  the  foun- 
dation-stone of  the 'new  school,  and  then  to  lay 
plans  to  build  upon  it. 

Did  their  preaching  produce  much  effect? 
"By  the  grace  of  God,  their  labor  was  not  in 
vain/''  says  an  eye-witness  of  the  change. 
"Kingswood  does  not  now,  as  a  year  ago,  re- 
sound with  cursing  and  with  blasphemy.  It  is 
no  more  filled  with  drunkenness  and  unclean- 
ness,  and  the  idle  diversions  they  lead  to.  It 
is  no  longer  full  of  wars  and  fightings,  of  clam- 
or and  bitterness,  of  wrath  and  envyings. 
Peace  and  love  are  there.  Great  numbers  of 
the  people  are  gentle,  mild,  and  easy  to  be  en- 
treated. They  do  not  'cry,  neither  strive/ 
and  hardly  is  their  voice  heard  in  the  streets, 


THE  OLD  HORSESHOE.  15 

or  indeed  in  their  own  ward,  unless  when  they 
are  at  their  usual  evening  devotions,  singing 
praises  unto  God  their  Saviour." 

Whitefield  soon  after  left  to  visit  the  United 
States.  The  home  mission  thus  begun  at 
Kingswood,  was  carried  on  by  Wesley,  and 
afterwards  by  his  successors. 

A  marked  reformation  took  place :  but  great 
and  noticeable  as  it  was,  a  great  deal  of  patient, 
spiritual  husbandry  was  necessary  to  perfect 
the  fruit,  and  especially  to  take  care  of  the  lit- 
tle seeds  and  shoots  of  divine  grace,  and  to 
renew  the  seeds,  and  to  weed  the  soil,  and  nur- 
ture the  young  plants,  and  to  bring  forth  a 
harvest  that  should  honor  God.  The  bad  hab- 
its and  wrong  opinions  of  a  large  community 
cannot  be  broken  up  in  a  day  or  a  year,  and 
good  habits  and  right  notions  directly  formed. 
There  were  still  ale-houses.  There  were  secret 
places  where  thieves  used  to  bandy  together ; 
and  there  were  reckless,  lawless  fellows,  who 
of  course  hated  the  reformation  which  they 
could  not  prevent,  and  who  tried  all  they  could 
to  hinder  the  progress  of  religion  among  their 
companions. 

Chapels  had  been  built,  schools  had  been 


16  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

opened,  faithful  preachers  had  labored  to  bring 
men  to  repentance  and  to  walk  in  the  fear  of 
God  ;  but  when  Samuel  Budgett  and  his  father's 
family  moved  to  Kingswood,  there  were  still 
many  neighborhoods  where  wickedness  lurked, 
and  there  was  work  enough  for  God's  people 
to  do. 

The  Budgetts  were  Wesleyan  Christians. 
They  feared  God,  and  tried  to  bring  up  their 
family  to  love  and  serve  him.  They  were  poor, 
but  frugal  and  industrious,  and  on  coming  to 
Kingswood,  opened  a  shop  on  the  "  cassy,"  or 
causeway.  Samuel  was  seven  at  the  time  of 
their  moving.  Here  he  found  the  horseshoe, 
and  here  he  went  to  such  schools  as  the  neigh- 
borhood afforded.  How  many  crumbs  of  know- 
ledge he  picked  up  we  do  not  know ;  but  we 
find  he  was  twice  punished  at  dame  Stone's 
school :  once  for  picking  up  an  apple  under  a 
tree,  and  again  for  washing  his  shoe  in  her  pan 
of  clean  water.  And  what  do  you  think  the 
punishment  was?  He  was  put  in  a  corner,  and 
had  a  long,  speckled  worsted  stocking  drawn 
over  his  head,  with  the  foot  dangling  in  his 
face. 
.  He  was  afterwards  sent  to  another  school, 


LITTLE  DONKEY.  17 

where  the  chief  instruction  of  the  mistress  was 
telling  the  children  stories  about  all  sorts  of 
hobgoblins ;  so  I  think  we  cannot  call  his  early 
advantages  for  schooling  very  superior ;  on  the 
contrary,  they  were  very  poor.  Samuel  liked 
the  shop  better  than  school ;  perhaps  he  felt  he 
learned  more  there,  for  he  used  to  observe 
very  carefully  how  business  was  done,  and 
sometimes  he  ventured  upon  small  bargains  on 
his  own  responsibility. 

One  day  a  woman  came  into  the  shop  with  a 
basket  of  cucumbers.  Samuel  asked  the  price 
not  only  of  one,  but  of  her  whole  stock.  His 
oldest  brother  Henry,  who  was  in  the  store, 
thought  him  very  inquisitive  and  forward,  and 
I  dare  say  told  him  to  be  off.  But  Samuel  said 
he  meant  to  buy  the  cucumbers,  which  he  did ; 
he  then  went  and  sold  them  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  made  ninepence  on  the  sale,  which 
is  eighteen  cents  of  our  money. 

A  boy -merchant,  is  he  not?  Sometimes  he 
bought  and  sold  eggs,  chickens,  pigs,  always 
with  a  fair  profit,  and  once  a  donkey. 

He  met,  one  day,  a  man  with  an  old  donkey 
and  a  little  one.  "  How  much  will  you  take 
for  your  little  donkey?"  asked  Samuel,  stop- 


18  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

ping  to  examine  the  animals.  "  Two  shillings 
and  sixpence,"  answered  the  man.  "It  is  a 
bargain,  then,"  said  the  boy,  who  paid  the  man 
his  price,  and  led  the  little  donkey  home.  A 
few  days  afterwards,  a  woman  offered  five 
shillings  for  it.  She  had  no  money  then,  she 
said,  but  promised  to  pay  him  in  a  week.  Not 
thinking  it  safe  to  trust  her  promise  alone,  he 
wanted  security.  "  I  have  nothing  in  the  world 
to  let  you  have,"  said  she,  "  but  a  pair  of  stays." 
"Very  well,"  said  Samuel,  "I  will  take  them, 
for  they  are  easily  carried."  He  took  them 
home,  and  told  his  mother,  when  Mrs.  Miles 
brought  the  money,  to  give  her  back  the  stays. 
But  before  the  week  was  out,  little  donkey  died. 
The  woman  then  wanted  her  stays  back.  "  No," 
said  the  boy,  "  the  bargain  was  fair.  Donkey 
became  your  property,  and  donkey's  dying  is 
therefore  your  loss,  not  mine."  And  so  I  sup- 
pose the  woman  had  to  redeem  her  stays  with 
five  shillings,  or  he  sold  them  elsewhere. 

Samuel's  parents  staid  but  two  years  at 
Kingswood,  when  they  gave  up  the  shop  to 
Henry,  and  moved  to  Coleford.  Henry  was 
Mr.  Budgett's  child  by  a  former  wife,  and  fifteen 
years  older  than  Samuel.  At  Coleford  they 


THE  MOTHER'S  PRAYER.  19 

opened  another  shop,  but  business  was  small, 
the  family  large,  and  it  was  often  difficult  to 
make  the  two  ends  of  the  year  meet.  Poor  as 
they  were  in  earthly  goods,  they  had  riches 
laid  up  in  heaven  ;  and  their  trust  in  God  made 
them  thankful  and  happy  with  their  coarse  fare. 
The  Wesleyan  preachers  were  often  welcomed 
to  their  frugal  table,  and  when  they  came,  Sam- 
uel loved  dearly  to  listen  to  their  pious  conver- 
sation. 

When  he  was  nine  years  old,  passing  early 
one  morning  his  mother's  chamber,  he  heard 
her  voice  in  prayer,  and  he  stopped  to  listen, 
for  she  seemed  praying  with  more  than  common 
fervency.  And  who  was  she  praying  for? 
What  had  sent  her  at  this  early  hour  of  the 
morning  to  the  throne  of  God  ?  It  was  for  her 
son  that  this  mother  prayed. 

"  Oh,"  cried  Samuel,  "  if  my  mother  is  so  anx- 
ious for  my  conversion,  how  anxious  ought  I 
to  be  for  it  myself!"  It  struck  him  to  the 
heart.  He  went  away  by  himself.  He  thought 
over  his  many,  many  faults  ;  they  never  looked 
so  big  and  so  serious  and  so  awful  before.  He 
saw  how  offensive  they  were  in  the  sight  of 
God.  He  felt  very  unhappy.  Would  he  go 


20  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

away  and  try  to  forget  them  ;  or  would  he  seek, 
in  penitence  and  prayer,  God's  forgiveness  and 
favor  ? 

Samuel  did  not  try  to  forget;  he  did  not 
want  to  banish  serious  thoughts  from  his  mind. 
He  wished  to  be  truly  penitent ;  and  he  prayed 
God  for  his  dear  Son's  sake  to  forgive  him, 
and  to  give  him  a  new  heart,  a  heart  to  hate 
sin  and  to  love  the  Saviour,  a  heart  to  obey  his 
will  and  keep  his  holy  laws. 

This  little  boy  began  on  that  day  to  pray, 
meaning  his  prayer.  A  great  many  children 
pray  without  minding  what  they  say,  or  caring 
whether  God  hears  them;  these  are  "words 
upon  a  thoughtless  tongue,"  and  such  prayer 
cannot  be  acceptable  to  God.  If  you  are  very 
anxious  to  have  a  favor  granted  to  you  by  your 
father,  how  carefully  and  how  earnestly  you 
ask  it;  your  manner  and  your  tones  are  such 
as  show  your  interest  in  the  matter.  You  can 
hardly  be  put  off.  Your  whole  heart  is  en- 
gaged in  it.  "  Please,  do/''  is  your  earnest  cry. 
This,  you  know,  is  the  way  to  gain  your  father's 
ear  ;  he  will  not  turn  you  off ;  he  will  hear,  and 
if  it  is  best,  how  willingly  will  he  grant  your 
request,  and  give  you  what  you  need.  But  God 


THE  MOTHER'S  PRAYER.  21 

is  more  ready  to  hear  and  to  answer  your  cries 
for  forgiveness  and  heavenly  things,  than  earth- 
ly parents  are  to  give  good  gifts  to  their  chil- 
dren— more  ready. 

But  children  sometimes  say,  I  have  prayed — 
I  have  prayed  a  great  many  times,  but  God 
did  not  answer  me.  I  have  asked  him  to  make 
me  a  penitent,  believing  child ;  but  alas,  I  am 
not. 

Did  you  pray  in  earnest  ?  Did  you  keep  on 
praying  ?  Samuel  was  in  earnest ;  Samuel  kept 
on  praying.  And  you  see  how  God  answered 
prayer  in  the  case  of  this  mother  and  her  son. 
Among  all  her  family  cares  and  labors,  what  is 
t\\Q  first  thing  this  mother  wants?  Her  son's 
conversion.  That  is  the  most  important  thing 
of  all.  What  is  the  first  duty  which  the  mother 
of  this  large  family  engages  in  ?  It  is  to  pray 
God  for  her  son's  conversion. 

That  mother  was  in  earnest.  And  what 
does  Jesus  say?  "Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive." 
I  suppose  this  mother  went  to  God  in  simple 
and  sincere  reliance  upon  the  word  of  his  dear 
Son.  And  God  was  as  good  as  his  word.  The 
mother's  prayer  fell  like  a  blessing  on  the  little 
boy  himself  as  he  passed  by  her  door.  He  went 


22  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

away,  and  carried  the  blessing  with  him,  for 
God  accompanied  it  by  his  Holy  Spirit;  and 
when  God  blesses,  nobody  can  snatch  the  good 
from  us.  And  what  did  it  do?  It  did  not 
harden.  It  touched  and  softened  him  ;  he  shed 
tears  of  penitence  for  himself,  and  it  excited 
him  to  turn  unto  God  with  his  whole  heart,  and 
pray  for  his  own  salvation.  And  he  became  a 
child  of  God.  These  feelings  did  not  pass 
away  from  his  mind,  like  early  dew  from  the 
flowers  of  the  garden.  He  did  not  go  back  to 
thoughtlessness  and  irreligion,  as  children  often 
do  after  they  have  been  awakened  to  some  de- 
gree of  concern  for  their  souls.  He  kept  on, 
for  God  kept  him.  "  They  that  seek  me  early 
shall  find  me,"  is  the  gracious  promise  of  our 
heavenly  Father. 

Will  not  other  children,  and  will  not  moth- 
ers also  take  encouragement  from  this  beautiful 
example  of  Samuel  and  his  mother,  and  believe 
in  God's  willingness  to  hear  and  to  answer 
prayer  ? 

There  was  a  poor  woman  very  sick  in  the 
neighborhood  about  this  time,  whose  happy 
experience  of  the  value  of  religion  on  a  sick 
and  dying  bed  strengthened  Samuel  in  his  de- 


THE  MOTHER'S  PRAYER.  23 

sires  to  secure  it.  His  mother  often  visited 
poor  Betty  Coles,  and  on  her  return  used  often 
to  describe  to  the  family  the  comfort  and  joy 
which  she  experienced  in  her  Saviour ;  and 
when  she  died,  it  seemed  only  a  step  from  earth 
to  heaven.  Samuel  thought  a  great  deal  about 
the  happy  death-bed  of  this  good  woman,  and 
he  often  went  out  into  the  fields  in  the  summer 
evenings  to  sing  to  himself  the  hymns  which 
cheered  and  comforted  her  ;  and  as  he  thought 
and  sung,  death  lost  its  terrors,  and  nothing 
seemed  more  desirable  to  the  boy  than  to  go 
home  and  live  with  his  Saviour  in  heaven. 

But  Samuel  did  not  die  young,  for  God  had 
work  for  him  to  do  on  earth. 

His  mother  in  a  few  months  was  taken  ill, 
and  brought  very  low.  One  night  she  was 
thought  to  be  dying.  Samuel  was  suddenly 
called  up,  old  Bob  was  saddled,  and  the  boy 
was  sent  in  all  haste  three  miles  on  a  dark 
winter  night  for  the  doctor.  A  sorrowful  ride 
it  must  have  been.  Much  as  the  doctor  might 
be  able  to  do  for  his  mother,  Samuel  believed 
God  could  do  far  more,  therefore  he  kept  pra/- 
ing  all  the  way  that  her  life  might  be  spared, 
and  health  again  return  to  her. 


24  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

On  his  way  back  the  day  began  to  dawn,  and 
as  he  was  passing  Mells  park,  a  little  bird 
struck  up  a  cheerful  note  just  over  his  head. 
The  bird-song  sounded  most  sweetly  to  him. 
It  filled  him  with  feelings  of  joy  and  gratitude, 
and  seemed  almost  to  assure  him  that  God  in 
mercy  would  answer  his  prayer  and  restore  his 
dear  mother  to  health.  On  reaching  home  he 
could  not  help  exclaiming,  "  Sister  Betsey,  moth- 
er will  get  well."  "What  makes  you  think 
so ?"  she  asked.  "  Oh,  1  feel  that  God  will  spare 
her  ever  since  I  passed  Mells  park  this  morn- 
ing." Sister  Betsey  saw  no  good  reason  for 
laying  aside  her  fears,  I  dare  say,  however  the 
boy  might ;  but  this  morning's  ride  was  a  ride 
he  loved  to  remember  through  his  whole  life, 
for  the  experience  of  joy  which  he  had  in  cast- 
ing his  load  of  sorrow  upon  God,  and  putting 
his  trust  in  him.  God  filled  his  bosom  with  a 
sweet  peace. 

It  might  seem  strange  to  some,  that  a  poor 
shivering  little  boy,  on  a  sorrowful  errand  like 
that,  on  a  dark  winter  morning,  far  from  home, 
could  feel  very  happy.  There  was  certainly 
nothing  in  his  circumstances  to  make  him  hap- 
py. Every  thing  looked  as  dark  and  comfort- 


THE  MOTHER'S  PRAYER.  25 

less  as  could  be.  But  when  God  fills  the  soul 
with  his  joy  and  Aw  peace,  then  a  person  will 
be  happy  anywhere,  no  matter  if  he  is  in  a 
dungeon ;  for  true  religion  can  make  a  person 
happy  without  the  aid  of  any  thing  else.  This 
was  a  taste  of  the  enjoyment  which  God's  chil- 
dren have.  Samuel,  by  penitence  and  prayer 
and  faith,  had  become  God's  child ;  and  I  am 
sure  it  tasted  better  than  any  thing  else  he 
ever  had.  It  is  better  than  any  thing  father  or 
mother,  or  brother  or  sister,  or  minister  or 
friend  can  give — better  than  any  thing  which 
the  whole  world  can  offer.  The  whole  world 
and  ten  thousand  worlds  cannot  give  one  drop 
of  comfort  to  the  soul,  like  that  which  God  can 
give. 

One  of  the  old  prophets  said,  "  Although  the 
fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall  fruit  be 
in  the  vines ;  the  labor  of  the  olive  shall  fail, 
and  the  fields  shall  yield  no  meat;  the  flock 
shall  be  cut  off  from  the  fold,  and  there  shall 
be  no  herd  in  the  stalls" — a  pretty  desolate 
picture  of  a  famine  it  is — "  yet,"  he  said,  not- 
withstanding this  desolation  and  want,  "  I  will 
rejoice  in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my 
salvation." 


26  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS.        '. 

Is  not  a  religion  that  can  give  so  much  of 
just  what  the  heart  craves,  the  hearts  of  chil- 
dren as  well  as  grown-up  people,  genuine  happi- 
ness—  is  not  such  a  religion  worth  having, 
worth  making  sure  of?  Samuel  thought  so,  as 
we  shall  see. 

Did  his  mother  get  well?  Yes;  and  one 
day  when  he  went  to  walk  with  her,  he  told 
her  of  his  sweet  experience  of  God's  goodness 
on  his  ride  by  Mells  park.  And  was.  she  not 
glad  ?  0  yes ;  for  happy  indeed  are  those 
parents  whose  children  trust  in  the  Lord,  fear- 
ing him  and  keeping  his  law. 


WHAT  TO  DO.  27 


CHAPTER  II. 

WHAT  TO  DO— LEAVING  HOME  — THE  APPREN- 
TICESHIP. 

SAMUEL  was  now  fourteen  years  old,  and  the 
question  had  often  been  agitated  in  the  family 
councils,  "  what  he  was  going  to  do."  A  more 
serious  question  than  this  often  comes  up  about 
boys  of  this  age,  which  occasions  more  perplex- 
ity and  many  more  anxious  days  to  decide ;  it 
is  this,  "  What  is  the  boy  going  to  be  ?"  That 
is  the  greatest  question,  Wliat  is  he  going  to  be  ? 
A  weak,  thriftless,  irresponsible  man  ;  or  a 
prompt,  energetic,  reliable  one?  An  industri- 
ous, painstaking,  God-fearing  man ;  or  an  idle, 
slovenly,  irreligious  one?  A  man  worth  some- 
thing, or  a  man  worth  nothing  ?  A  poet  says, 
"  The  boy  is  father  of  the  man  ;"  which  means, 
that  the  germs  of  the  future  man  are  growing 
in  the  boy.  The  seeds  of  future  character  are 
no  doubt  there,  and  it  is  precisely  this  which 
makes  the  tastes,  tendencies,  and  habits  of 
boyhood  a  matter  of  such  weighty  concern  to 
parents.  What  the  boy  is  going  to  do,  is  second 


28  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS 

to  what  he  is  going  to  be;  for  what  he  does,  will 
very  greatly  depend  upon  what  he  is. 

It  is  not  so  important  what  kind  of  business 
a  man  engages  in,  provided  it  is  an  honest 
one,  as  upon  what  principles  it  is' conducted — 
how  much  energy,  prudence,  foresight,  and 
prayer  he  throws  into  it.  It  is  upon  such  foun- 
dations that  true  success  is  built.  It  is  such 
elements  which  make  business  good — good  for 
the  master,  good  for  his  men,  good  for  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lives. 

By  the  time  Samuel  was  fourteen,  the  ques- 
tion what  he  was  going  to  be,  occasioned  no 
anxiety  in  the  minds  of  his  parents ;  that  was 
pretty  nearly  decided,  although  every  body, 
perhaps,  did  not  discern  the  real  merits  of  the 
little  fellow.  But  what  was  he  going  to  do  ? 
Samuel  had  a  choice  in  the  matter.  He  want- 
ed to  become  a  missionary,  he  longed  to  preach 
the  gospel.  That  was  his  strong  desire,  one 
day  to  be  a  preacher.  He  was  not,  however, 
too  young  to  see  there  were  many  serious  ob- 
stacles in  the  way.  He  was  poor,  and  poorly 
educated  even  in  the  branches  of  a  common 
education ;  then  he  doubted  his  capacity :  he 
hardly  thought  he  had  talent  fit  for  such  an 


WHAT  TO  DO.  29 

office.  Besides,  his  parents  needed  help,  and 
was  it  not  his  duty  to  qualify  himself  to  assist 
them  as  soon  as  possible? 

Many  days  and  nights  he  pondered  this  ques- 
tion of  duty.  One  day  as  he  was  riding  along 
on  his  father's  horse  thinking  these  matters 
over,  he  fell^to  musing,  and  imagined  himself 
transported  to  some  foreign  land  as  a  mission- 
ary, engaged  in  preaching  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen ;  and  he  almost  fancied  himself  kneel- 
ing under  the  bushes  and  among  the  rocks, 
drawing  down  blessings  by  faith  and  prayer. 
For  a  time  he  forgot  where  he  was.  And 
when  at  last  he  awoke  from  his  dream,  he 
found  the  bridle  loose  on  the  horse's  neck,  and 
the  horse  standing  under  a  large  tree  in  a  lane, 
eating  grass.  It  appeared  to  him  that  for 
some  time  he  had  been  surrounded  by  a  great 
congregation,  whom  he  had  been  begging  to 
flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  who  accepted 
salvation  through  Jesus  Christ.  One  thing 
was  certain,  he  had  been  weeping  a  great  deal, 
for  the  pommel  of  his  saddle  and  the  horse's 
shoulders  were  wet  with  his  tears ;  and  he  rode 
home  with  a  sweet  feeling  of  peace  such  as 
could  not  be  described. 


30  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

Then  the  uppermost  thought  was  to  give  up 
all  idea  of  trade,  and  devote  himself  to  study 
for  the  gospel  ministry. 

But  a  different  path  lay  out  before  him.  And 
the  final  decision  was,  that  he  should  go  into 
his  brother  Henry's  store  at  Kingswood,  and 
serve  with  him  a  regular  apprenticeship  of 
seven  years. 

Samuel  had  laid  up  at  this  time  the  sum  of 
thirty  pounds,  the  fruit  of  his  own  earnings  and 
savings — a  handsome  sum  for  a  boy  of  his  age 
to  be  master  of.  Now,  what  do  you  suppose  he 
did  with  it?  Invested  in  bank-stock  at  six 
per  cent.,  it  would  have  been  a  nice  little  capi- 
tal to  have  started  business  with  at  twenty- 
one.  He  did  invest  it,  but  not  in  bank-stock. 
On  leaving  home,  he  made  a  present  of  it  to  his 
mother.  And  he  always  considered  it  the  best 
investment  he  ever  made,  for  he  says,  "  JVb  in- 
vestment under  the  sky  is  so  sure  as  a  parent's 
blessing." 

Let  the  boys  think  of  that.  It  should  be 
written  in  letters  of  gold.  "There  is  no  in- 
vestment under  the  sky  so  sure  as  a  parent's 
blessing." 

With  such  a  parting  gift  to  his  dear  mother, 


LEAVING  HOME.  31 

Samuel  started  for  Kingswood.  His  brother's 
shop  was  a  variety-store,  containing  almost 
every  thing  which  might  be  wanted  in  the 
families  of  the  colliers.  It  was  called  the 
"great  shop  on  the  cassy."  All  around  were 
the  rude  and  humble  houses  of  the  collier  pop- 
ulation. Some  were  thrifty  and  comfortable, 
others  poor  and  comfortless ;  the  people,  as  a 
class,  were  ignorant  and  degraded ;  there  were 
many  circumstances  which  hindered  their  moral 
and  social  improvement,  and  nourished  the 
worst  passions  of  the  human  heart.  Almost  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  were  nests  of  rob- 
bers, who  prowled  by  night  around  the  farms 
and  hamlets  of  the  vicinity,  and  stole  whatever 
they  could  lay  their  hands  on.  Many  a  time, 
when  the  farmers  and  constables  were  search- 
ing their  premises  for  stolen  goods,  the  thieves 
would  show  them  their  own  pigs  and  poultry, 
dead  and  picked,  and  defy  them  to  prove  their 
property. 

This  was  home  heathenism.  If  Samuel  there- 
fore wanted  opportunities  to  do  missionary 
work,  Kingswood  offered  ample  room  for  all 
labors  of  the  kind.  Indeed,  every  young  per- 
son with  a  heart  to  do  good,  can  find  a  great 


32  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

deal  of  good  to  do  not  very  far  from  his  own 
door. 

Samuel  soon  found  his  hands  full  of  shop- 
work,  from  morning  till  night,  all  the  week. 
By  six  in  the  morning  he  was  expected  to  be  on 
duty,  and  often  his  labors  were  not  closed  until 
ten  or  eleven  at  night.  The  work  was  very 
hard  ;  there  was  a  great  deal  of  heavy  lifting, 
and  many  errands  to  be  done  in  Bristol,  requir- 
ing a  swift  foot.  It  was  work,  work,  work, 
with  hardly  interval  enough  for  rest,  or  any 
leisure  to  improve  his  mind  by  reading,  except 
on  Sunday,  and  Sunday  was  a  welcome  and 
precious  day  to  poor  Samuel.  Its  sacred  hours 
he  highly  prized ;  its  opportunities  for  improve- 
ment he  diligently  cultivated. 

There  was  a  little  chapel  close  by  his  broth- 
er's, where  the  family  worshipped ;  and  there 
Samuel  used  to  go  every  Sabbath  morning,  eager 
to  hear  the  preaching,  and  delighted  to  engage 
in  the  devotions  of  the  people  of  God.  The 
sermons  were  a  great  treat  to  him,  and  lest  he 
should  forget  any  thing  by  the  way,  or  have  his 
mind  diverted  from  the  truth  by  hearing  foolish 
or  unprofitable  talk,  he  often  stopped  his  ears 
on  his  way  home.  In  pleasant  weather  he 


THE  APPRENTICESHIP.  33 

would  betake  himself  to  the  solitude  of  an  old 
quarry  behind  the  house,  and  there,  seated  upon 
a  piece  of  slag,  would  review  the  sermon,  study 
his  Bible,  and  learn  sacred  poetry,  striving  to 
store  up  treasures  of  divine  truth  to  feed  his 
soul  upon  during  the  week.  No  gains  without 
pains,  Samuel  felt,  in  heavenly  as  well  as  in 
earthly  gettings. 

I  am  sure  Samuel  must  have  been  a  good 
boy — faithful  and  diligent  you  are  ready  to 
believe.  But  for  some  cause  or  other  he  failed 
to  satisfy  his  brother ;  and  his  brother,  after 
two  or  three  years'  trial,  gave  him  notice  to 
quit,  allowing  him  a  month  to  look  out  for 
another  situation.  It  was  a  heavy  blow  to  the 
poor  boy.  What  could  he  do  ?  If  his  brother 
turned  him  away,  what  reasonable  expectation 
was  there  of  his  getting  another  place?  He 
however  heard  of  a  vacancy  in  a  store  in  Bris- 
tol, and  resolved  to  apply  for  it  without  delay. 
When  he  reached  the  door,  his  heart  failed 
him,  for  he  knew  his  size  and  appearance  and 
clothes  were  all  against  him.  Samuel  was 
small  of  his  age,  and  not  very  stout.  Plucking 
up  courage,  he  ventured  in,  and  offered  his  ser- 
vices. 

No  Paioi.  3 


34  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

"  I  ain  afraid  you  are  not  strong  enough  for 
my  situation,"  said  the  shop-keeper. 

"  0  do  try  me,  sir  ;  I  am  sure  I  can  do,"  said 
the  boy. 

"Can  you  write  your  address?"  asked  Mr. 


Samuel  was  not  quite  sure  what  "address" 
meant,  but  -he  said,  "I  can  write  an  invoice, 
sir."  Do  the  boys  who  read  this  know  what 
"invoice"  means? 

"Very  well,"  said  the  shop-keeper,  "write 
eighty-six  pounds  of  bacon,  at  nine  and  a  half 
pence  per  pound." 

Samuel  wrote  it,  but  the  reckoning  was 
wrong.  He  tried  a  second  time,  and  failed. 
How  badly  he  felt.  Just  then  a  young  man, 
tall  and  well-dressed,  entered  the  shop  on  the 
same  errand  for  which  Samuel  was  on  trial. 
What  hope  was  there  for  him?  The  shop- 
keeper's wife,  however,  was  pleased  with  the 
boy's  looks,  and  she  urged  a  word  in  his  favor. 

"He  is  not  strong  enough,"  said  the  shop- 
keeper ;  "he  could  never  carry  those  heavy 
cheeses." 

''  Do  try  me,  sir,"  pleaded  Samuel  ;  "I  am  sure 
I  can  do  it."  And  instantly  going  to  work 


THE  APPRENTICESHIP.  35 

among  the  cheeses,  he  showed  so  much  spirit 
that  the  man  concluded  to  take  him. 

He  was  dismissed  from  his  brother's  store  on 
the  score  of  "  want  of  ability,"  as  was  found  re- 
corded on  Henry's  books.  The  result  will  show 
that  masters  may  be  mistaken  in  the  capacities 
of  their  apprentices,  and  that  boys,  even  if  they 
do  their  best,  need  not  be  discouraged  if  they 
fail  to  suit  their  first  employers. 

Before  going  to  Bristol,  he  determined  to  pay 
his  parents  a  visit  at  Coleford,  and  a  younger 
brother,  who  was  an  apprentice  in  Bristol,  got 
leave  to  go  with  him.  Leaving  Kingswood 
tinder  such  circumstances,  was  a  sore  trial  to 
poor  Samuel.  He  felt  it  something  in  the  light 
of  a  disgrace.  Before  leaving,  he  asked  his 
brother  for  a  character,  for  I  suppose  he  was 
conscious  of  having  done  as  well  as  he  could. 
Henry  gave  him  one.  At  first  he  was  afraid  to 
open  the  paper  and  look  at  it,  but  turning  into 
a  little  gate  by  the  roadside  to  hide  his  agita- 
tion, he  ventured  to  peep  in,  and  was  greatly 
relieved  to  find  his  want  of  strength  given  as 
a  reason  for  his  dismissal. 

The  boys  started  on  their  journey  on  foot. 
And  how  do  you  suppose  they  employed  their 


36  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

time?  The  younger  brother  had  been  at  better 
schools,  and  his  stock  of  learning,  small  as  it 
probably  was,  was  superior  to  Samuel's.  Sam- 
uel therefore  determined  to  take  advantage 
of  his  brother's  knowledge ;  and  as  they  trav- 
elled, they  practised  addition,  multiplication,  and 
division  on  all  the  bacon,  butter,  cheese,  and 
chickens  they  could  think  of.  Samuel  was  anx- 
ious to  become  a  ready  and  accurate  reckoner, 
and  a  persevering  use  of  even  his  slender  ad- 
vantages he  well  knew  would  increase  his  skill. 
"  No  gains  without  pains,"  was  bis  maxim. 

The  boys  were  so  much  interested  in  their 
arithmetic,  that  they  lost  their  reckoning  of  the 
road.  Night  overtook  them  far  from  Coleford, 
but  near  the  friendly  warmth  of  a  coke-kiln  ; 
and  tired  enough,  they  concluded  to  lie  down 
and  pass  the  night  by  the  fire.  Early  the  next 
morning,  a  cartman  passing  that  way,  offered 
the  boys  a  ride,  which  they  were  very  thankful 
to  accept,  for  the  ride  carried  them  home  in 
good  season  for  breakfast. 

A  family  meeting  as  happy  as  unexpected,  it 
no  doubt  was.  The  boys  had  much  to  tell,  their 
parents  much  to  hear,  and  the  little  children 
mafiy  questions  to  ask.  If  Samuel's  pleasure 


THE  APPRENTICESHIP.  37 

was  at  all  damped,  and  I  suppose  it  was  by 
his  brother's  course,  it  received  a  farther  check 
by  the  signs  of  hard  times  which  he  saw  at 
home.  His  father,  some  years  older  than  his 
mother,  was  well  along  in  life,  and  perhaps 
could  do  little  for  the  family  maintenance. 
Poverty  sometimes  pinched.  He  was  afraid 
that  the  struggle  must  sometimes  be  severe, 
and  he  felt  deeply  for  his  mother,  whose  cares 
and  labors  were  outrunning  her  strength.  How 
he  longed  to  be  in  a  situation  to  help  her  ;  how 
he  longed  to  lift  from  her  the  load  of  care,  and 
place  her  in  ease  and  comfort.  Samuel's  cour- 
age revived.  He  was  determined  to  do  his 
best.  He  would,  God  willing,  be  something. 
His  resolution  took  a  fresh  start.  His  affec- 
tions fired  up  all  the  energy  of  his  character, 
and  after  a  few  days'  visit,  he  left  Coleford  to 
try  his  fortune  in  Bristol. 

On  the  journey  back,  he  met  a  man  with  a 
jay  to  sell.  The  pretty  bird  attracted  his  notice, 
and  he  bought  it  for  six  cents.  Having  a  few 
hours  to  spare  after  reaching  Bristol,  he  took 
his  stand  on  the  bridge  where  there  were  many 
passers-by,  and  offered  his  jay  for  sale.  Nobody 
seemed  disposed  to  buy.  The  day  was  wearing 


38  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

away,  and  the  bird  unsold.  He  then  left  his 
stand,  and  offered  it  from  house  to  house  ;  this 
succeeded,  and  he  sold  it  at  a  profit  of  eighteen 
cents.  "  No  gains  without  pains,"  Samuel 
thought. 

The  next  morning  he  went  to  his  new  mas- 
ter. Both  the  man  and  his  wife  received  him 
kindly.  They  soon  discovered  his  worth,  and 
prized  his  services.  Samuel  was  greatly  en- 
couraged, and  very  happy  was  he  with  these 
good  people.  While  in  his  brother's  employ- 
ment, he  had  no  opportunity  of  earning  any 
thing  extra  for  himself.  But  by  some  means  or 
other,  we  find  him  at  this  time  the  possessor  of 
fifteen  shillings,  which  is  nearly  four  dollars  of 
our  money.  You  remember  how  he  invested 
his  thirty  pounds.  Perhaps  you  would  like 
also  to  know  how  he  disposed  of  this. 

Two  of  his  sisters  came  to  live  in  Bristol ; 
they  were  trying  to  maintain  themselves,  per- 
haps by  sewing,  and  Samuel,  of  course,  was 
desirous  to  lend  them  a  helping  hand.  One 
day  he  went  to  a  coal-pit,  and  laid  out  all  his 
money  in  coal,  to  be  carted  to  his  sisters'  lodg- 
ings. So  ready  was  he  to  answer  the  calls  of 
family  affection. 


THE  APPEENTICESHIP.  39 

In  Mr.  Arthur's  life  of  Samuel  Budgett  there 
are  some  remarks  upon  earning  and  giving 
money,  which  I  want  every  one  who  reads  this 
to  have  the  benefit  of.  Rev.  Mr.  Arthur  is  an 
English  gentleman,  who  wrote  a  large  and  in- 
teresting book  called  "The  Successful  Mer- 
chant," which  I  hope  you  will  get  and  read. 
He  says  John  Wesley,  in  a  powerful  sermon 
on  the  use  of  money,  lays  down  these  three 
rules  :  "  Make  all  you  can  ;  save  all  you  can  ; 
give  all  you  can."  Both  from  natural  disposi- 
tion and  early  habit,  Samuel  seemed  when  a 
boy  to  understand  and  act  upon  these  princi- 
ples, whether  he  had  then  ever  heard  the  ser- 
mon or  not.  To  make,  to  save,  to  give,  he  set 
himself.  To  make  without  saving,  is  useless 
and  absurd  ;  to  save  without  giving,  is  miserly  ; 
to  make  and  then  save,  is  wise ;  to  save  and 
then  give,  is  Christian. 

Which  did  Samuel  do?  I  want  you  to  stop 
and  think  about  his  course,  because  it  is  worth 
remembering.  If  you  ever  do  business,  it  is 
very  important  to  have  some  definite  notions, 
some  clear  Christian  principles,  in  regard  to 
the  value  and  the  use  of  money. 

He  had  not  been  long  away  from  Kingswood 


40  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

before  Henry  Budgett  was  sensible  what  a  loss 
he  had  met  with,  and  what  a  mistake  he  had 
made,  in  parting  with  his  brother.  He  bitterly 
regretted  it,  for  nobody  could  supply  his  place, 
and  he  was  bent  upon  having  him  back.  Very 

naturally  Mr.  B was  loath  to  give  Samuel 

up,  for  a  better  clerk,  of  his  age,  he  had  never 
had  in  his  employment.  Indeed,  he  could  not 
think  of  parting  with  him,  and  was  willing  to 
give  him  high  wages  to  stay.  Very  naturally 
Samuel  was  loath  to  leave.  He  was  thoroughly 
appreciated,  had  received  great  kindness,  and 
was  very  happy  in  his  Bristol  home. 

But  Henry  urged  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
serve  out  his  apprenticeship,  according  to  the 
old  agreement;  and  Samuel,  always  tender 
and  scrupulous  on  every  point  of  duty  and  con- 
science, yielded  at  last  to  this  argument — if 
sound  argument  it  was,  for  his  dismissal  would 
seem  to  relieve  him  from  any  thing  like  moral 
obligation  to  return.  In  doing  so,  he  gave  up 
a  good  salary  for  a  bare  support  until  the  close 
of  his  legal  stay,  at  twenty-one. 

Samuel  then  went  back  to  the  old  shop  in 
Kingswood,  for  which  perhaps  he  felt  a  linger- 
ing affection ;  for  his  parents  first  opened  it,  and 


THE  APPRENTICESHIP.  41 

there  he  spent  some  of  the  most  interesting 
days  of  his  childhood.  He  was  now  about 
eighteen.  If  his  brother  was  glad  of  his  return, 
the  customers  certainly  were  also :  he  was  so 
obliging,  so  attentive,  so  anxious  to  do  the  best 
for  you  ;  there  was  so  much  heart  in  every 
thing  he  did.  The  old  market-women  rather 
wait  a  long  time  in  order  to  be  served  by  him  ; 
indeed,  they  thought  he  gave  better  weight  and 
measure  than  any  body  else.  The  people  all 
around  loved  him  as  a  son  and  brother.  Many 
a  choice  apple  and  bunch  of  gooseberries  from 
nice  little  gardens  were  brought  to  him.  And 
very  grateful  was  he  for  these  little  gifts,  but 
he  never  ate  them  :  they  were  delicacies  which 
he  denied  himself,  and  hoarded  up  to  take  over 
to  a  poor  old  pious  aunt  living  in  Bristol ;  so 
thoughtful  and  interested  was  he  in  the  smallest 
things  which  could  administer  to  the  comfort 
and  gratification  of  others. 

Whatever  Samuel  did,  he  did  with  his  might. 
All  the  minute  details  of  business  he  carefully 
and  faithfully  attended  to.  No  slipshod,  half- 
way work  ever  came  from  his  hands.  He 
always  used  to  say,  in  whatever  calling  a  Chris* 
tian  is  found,  he  should  strive  to  be  the  best  in 


42  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

his  calling :  if  only  a  shoeblack,  he  ought  to 
be  the  best  shoeblack  in  the  neighborhood. 

The  apostle  sums  up  this  principle  in  a  short 
verse,  which  is  of  amazing  value ;  it  is  this, 
"  Whatsoever  you  do,  do  it  heartily,  as  unto  the 
Lord."  These  few  words  are  charged  with  a 
great  deal  of  hidden  power. 

You  know  how  much  more  circumspectly 
children  behave,  and  how  much  more  faithfully 
they  do  their  work,  if  they  know  their  parents 
are  looking  on.  What  energy  a  boy  often 
throws  into  his  studies,  if  he  feels  that  the 
teacher's  eye  is  fixed  upon  him.  And  so,  with 
what  diligence,  what  fidelity,  what  painstaking 
are  those  likely  to  enter  upon  their  work  who 
truly  feel  that  God  gave  it  to  them  to  do,  and 
that  he  is  constantly  minding  just  how  they 
do  it. 

On  Samuel's  return  to  Kingswood,  his  mis- 
sionary zeal  found  an  outlet,  and  we  are  thank- 
ful to  follow  him  into  more  direct  efforts  to  do 
good  in  the  neighborhoods  around  him.  I  told 
you  about  a  nest  of  thieves  not  very  far  from 
Henry  Budgett's ;  they  lived  at  a  place  called 
Cockroad,  arid  were  called  Cockroadites,  the 
terror  and  dislike  of  all  decent  people.  And 


THE  APPRENTICESHIP.  43 

their  scores  of  children  were  growing  up  in  all 
the  vices  of  their  parents,  like  the  very  hea- 
then. Could  any  thing  be  done  in  their  be- 
half? What  could  be  done  ?  These  were  pretty 
serious  questions  agitated  by  the  pious  people 
of  Kingswood.  Ought  they  to  be  longer  neg- 
lected? "No,  they  ought  not,"  said  Henry 
Budgett;  "we  must  make  efforts  to  reclaim 
them  ;  we  must  give  them  the  gospel."  It  was 
proposed  to  establish  a  Sabbath-school  on  the 
spot,  and  Samuel  entered  into  the  plan  with 
all  the  earnestness  of  his  character.  We  can 
readily  suppose  no  person  was  better  suited  to 
visit  the  parents,  and  conciliate  their  good-will, 
than  he.  The  school  was  opened  in  July,  1812  ; 
and  to  their  surprise,  on  the  first  day  seventy- 
five  children  made  their  appearance,  fifty-eight 
of  whom  did  not  know  their  alphabet.  Was 
not  the  effort  worth  making? 

."  Many  of  them,"  says  one  of  the  teachers, 
"  are  children  of  the  notorious  tribe  of  Cock- 
roadites,  some  of  whose  fathers  are  now  in 
prison  ;  and  many  of  them,  with  their  parents, 
are  entirely  dependent  on  a  system  of  robbing 
and  plunder  for  their  support." 

Here  then  was  a  field  of  Christian  usefulness 


44  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

demanding  patience  and  prayer,  and  a  true  love 
of  souls  for  Christ's  sake.  Of  children  Samuel 
was  very  fond.  His  kind  and  genial  manners 
won  their  affections.  He  entered  into  their 
circle  of  sympathies  and  interests.  He  made 
them  his  study.  He  understood  how  to  talk 
with  .them,  and  was  always  on  the  watch  for 
suitable  anecdotes  and  stories  to  illustrate  and 
impress  the  truth.  His  power  over  them  be- 
came very  great ;  and  few  people  could  inter- 
est audiences  of  children,  hold  their  attention, 
and  touch  their  consciences,  like  Mr.  Samuel 
Budgett.  For  you  remember  he  acted  upon  the 
principle,  that  every  thing  worth  doing,  was 
worth  doing  in  the  best  way  possible;  and 
although  he  had  had  small  advantages  for  edu- 
cation and  mental  improvement,  he  became  an 
excellent,  devoted,  and  successful  Sabbath-school 
teacher — one  of  the  best  sort.  "  No  gains  with- 
out pains."  No  excellence  without  effort.  '9 

Few  young  men,  perhaps,  realized  more  the 
value  of  time,  and  consequently  few  made  a 
better  use  of  it.  How  did  he  learn  its  value? 
I  will  tell  you  the  principle  upon  which  this 
valuation  was  made  ;  it  is  an  important  one. 

"  You  think/7  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  "  that  if 


THE  APPRENTICESHIP.  45 

you  were  obliged  to  labor  from  morning  till 
night,  this  would  teach  you  the  value  of  time. 
Is  not  this  a  mistake?  Can  any  thing  so  effec- 
tually teach  us  its  value  as  a  deep  conviction 
that  it  is  not  our  own,  but  an  important  talent 
put  into  our  hands,  for  which  we  must  give  a 
strict  account  at  the  great,  the  general  audit  of 
all  our  accounts  with  our  Maker?  If  so,  of 
how  little  importance  is  it  to  us  what  may  be 
the  nature  or  number  of  our  engagements,  so 
long  as  we  may  secure  at  last  the  blessed  plau- 
dit of  'well  done'  from  Him  whose  approba- 
tion alone  it  is  that  gives  real  value  to  every 
thing  in  heaven  or  earth." 

Here  is  a  letter,  written  towards  the  close  of 
his  apprenticeship,  which  will  help  to  disclose 
more  of  his  character. 

"  KINGSWOOD  HILL,  Angnst  29. 

"  MY  VERY  DEAR  FRIEND — Your  affectionate 
letter  I  received  last  week.  After  I  had  dis- 
missed the  business  of  the  day,  I  retired  to  my 
room,  sat  down,  and  began  to  think — How  long 
is  it  since  I  received  Mr.  M 'a  book  of  ex- 
tracts? How  long  since  he  asked  me  to  send 
him  a  plan  for  keeping  a  commonplace-book? 
Turning  to  my  little  library,  Why  did  I  place 


46  NO  PAINS.  NO  GAINS. 

so  many  books  on  those  shelves  ?  I  asked.  The 
feelings  of  my  mind  on  that  occasion  I  cannot 
describe  to  you ;  I  believe  it  was  something  like 
one  awaking  from  a  dream  who  ought  to  have 
been  on  an  important  journey  some  hours  be- 
fore. I  saw  that  all  my  powers  had  been  in  a 
state  of  dormancy.  I  began  to  reflect  on  your 
past  kindness,  and  considered  that  I  had  not 
even  read  all  your  book,  though  I  intended  copy- 
ing a  great  deal  of  it.  How  plainly  did  I  see, 
and  to  my  sorrow  feel  the  truth  of  your  obser- 
vation, that  the  mind  once  enlightened  and  hav- 
ing lost  the  love  of  God,  is  in  a  more  inactive 
state  than  ever.  I  saw  that  my  mind  had  been 
swallowed  up  in  business,  to  the  great  neglect 
of  my  spiritual  and  mental  concerns.  I  con- 
sidered that  I  had  been  but  little  different  for 
seven  years  ;  and  from  your  letter,  I  thought 
you  appeared  to  be  sinking  into  the  same  state. 
After  passing  some  time — for  I  took  no  sup- 
per that  night,  but  stayed  in  my  room  reason- 
ing and  endeavoring  to  think  on  what  had  pass- 
ed till  bedtime— I  thought,  What  a  deplorable 
state  we  are  in.  What  can  be  done  ?  And  I 
determined  to  do  something.  I  took  up  my 
pen,  and  wrote  down  a  few  little  things  that  I 


THE  APPRENTICESHIP.  47 

had  neglected,  and  resolved  to  execute  them  in 
order,  and  as  fast  as  possible,  praying  for  the 
blessing  of  God  on  my  weak  endeavors. 

"  Join  with  me,  my  dear  friend,  join  with  me 
in  praying  that  the  Lord  may  add  his  blessing 
to  my  resolutions,  and  I  believe  we  shall  soon 
see  better  days.  Let  us  look  to  that  God  who 
has  promised,  'I  will  instruct  thee,  and  teach 
thee  in  the  way  which  thou  shalt  go  ;  I  will 
guide  thee  with  mine  eye.'  .'I  am  the  light  of 
the  world  ;  he  that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk 
in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life.' 
Surely  we  err  in  not  following  him  more  closely ; 
perhaps  we  have  not  thought  highly  enough  of 
our  calling.  Let  us  begin  to  double  our  diligence, 
and  henceforth  walk  as  children  of  the  light. 

"  Inclosed  you  have  a  small  book  with  the  in- 
dex to  Locke's  commonplace-book  ruled  in  it, 
of  which  I  must  beg  your  acceptance  as  a  small 
token  of  my  love  and  affection  for  you.  I  have 
not  written  a  list  of  my  books  yet,  but  hope  to 
do  so,  and  will  send  it  to  you  in  my  next. 

"  As  it  respects  my  coming  to  Frome,  I  thank 
you  for  your  kind  invitation.  I  have  intended 
going,  but  I  assure  you,  when  it  comes  to  the 
point,  I  have  no  inclination  to  go  anywhere ; 


48  *fO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

for  if  I  cannot  find  happiness  at  home,  it  is  in 
vain  to  seek  it  anywhere  else.  I  think,  if  I 
were  to  come  with  the  determination  to  enjoy 
the  company  of  my  friends  by  going  to  any 
places  of  recreation  or  amusement,  though  I  am 
very  fond  of  such  kind  of  enjoyments,  particu- 
larly where  religion  and  real  happiness  is  the 
subject  of  conversation,  yet  it  may  tend  rather 
to  divert  my  mind  from  God  as  the  source  of 
my  happiness,  than  unite  it  to  him.  But  for 
one  thing  I  have  long  felt  an  earnest,  though 
secret  desire ;  which  is,  to  spend  a  little  time 

with  you  and  Mr.  T alone,  where  no  object 

but  God  could  attract  our  attention ;  that  we 
may,  by  devout  conversation,  by  humble,  fer- 
vent, faithful  prayer,  get  our  souls  united  to 
each  other,  and  to  God  our  living  head,  by  the 
strongest  ties  of  love  and  affection. 

"Pray  for  me,  my  dear  friend.  I  have  only 
one  more  request  to  make ;  that  is,  that  you 
will  write  soon,  and  believe  me  your  affection- 
ate friend, 

«S.  B." 

This  letter  is  worth  many  readings.  How 
many  young  men,  young  men  professing  piety, 
find  their  own  feelings  answer  to  its  sentiments? 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.      49 

CHAPTER   III. 

BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS. 

WHEN  Samuel  completed  his  apprenticeship, 
and  was  free,  his  brother  hired  him  for  three 
years,  on  a  salary  of  forty  pounds  for  the  first 
year,  fifty  for  the  next,  and  sixty  for  the  third. 
At  the  end  of  the  three  years,  he  had  saved 
from  this,  one  hundred  pounds,  or  five  hundred 
dollars. 

What  did  he  do  with  it?  The  investment 
which  he  made  of  his  thirty  pounds,  and  of  his 
fifteen  shillings,  you  readily  remember.  They 
were  put  in  the  bank  of  family  affection.  And 
this  went  the  same  way.  His  brother  Henry 
had  engaged  in  a  banking  speculation,  which 
proved  to  be  a  failure.  His  credit  and  prop- 
erty were  in  danger.  Samuel  went  to  him  and 
begged  him  to  accept  his  one  hundred  pounds ; 
which  he  did,  and  which  relieved  him  of  his 
difficulties.  The  young  man's  care  and  love 
for  his  family  were  very  great ;  doing  for  them, 
was  like  doing  for  himself. 


50  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

At  the  close  of  the  three  years,  Henry  took 
him  into  partnership,  and  this  opened  a  wider 
scope  to  his  powers.  Already  the  business  had 
thriven  through  his  insight  and  energy ;  and 
more  immediately  under  his  control,  it  was  des- 
tined to  increase  more  and  more.  It  was  one 
of  his  favorite  maxims,  that  "business  is  what 
it  is  made  to  be ;"  good,  bad,  indifferent,  hon- 
est, or  dishonest — -just  what  it  is  made  to  be  by 
the  master-mind  which  conducts  it. 

The  first  great  principle  on  which  business 
was  conducted  by  the  Budgetts  was  cash  pay- 
ments. Do  you  know  what  that  is?  Goods 
were  not  bought  or  sold  on  credit.  Articles 
were  not  charged  on  the  books,  to  be  paid  for  at 
some  future  time — often  very  future.  They  were 
paid  for  at  the  time  of  buying,  in  cash,  or  at 
least  at  a  given  time  not  many  weeks  or  days 
off.  In  this  way  they  avoided  many  ''bad 
debts ;"  that  is,  losses  from  customers  who, 
after  three,  or  four,  or  six  mouths,  might  find 
themselves  in  no  situation  to  pay  at  all.  The 
consequence  of  this  system  is,  that  merchants 
and  traders  know,  with  some  degree  of  cer- 
tainty, just  where  they  are,  in  almost  every 
stage  of  their  business. 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.       51 

The  store  began  small,  and  gradually  en- 
larged. When  Samuel  first  entered  it,  it  was 
only  a  small  retail  shop.  A  great  many  of  the 
customers  were  women,  who  came  from  the 
neighboring  Tillages  on  donkeys ;  and  often- 
times a  great  crowd  of  donkeys  testified  how 
many  customers  there  were  on  hand,  making  a 
smart  day's  business  behind  the  counters.  Sam- 
uel thought,  why  not  go  around  into  the  villa- 
ges, and  get  the  orders  of  their  customci'S ;  it 
would  save  them  trouble,  it  would  secure  their 
custom,  and  it  would  open  ways  to  extend 
business.  When  Samuel  joined  the  firm,  he 
proposed  this.  Henry  objected ;  he  liked  the 
old  way  of  doing  things.  Samuel,  however,  pre- 
vailed over  him,  and  gained  his  point ;  and  soon 
he  might  have  been  seen  setting  off  alone  at 
stated  times,  going  the  rounds  of  the  little  vil- 
lages in  the  vicinity,  Pucklechurch  and  Doyn- 
ton,  and  I  do  not  know  how  many  others,  to 
meet  his  customers  and  get  their  orders  for 
goods ;  his  kind  cheerful  manners  won  upon 
every  body  who  saw  him,  and  he  made  friends 
wherever  he  went.  From  supplying  families, 
he  soon  talked  of  supplying  goods  to  the  small- 
er shops.  "It  would  be  a  great  benefit  to 


52  NO  PAINS.  NO  GAINS. 

us,"  said  the  small  shop-keepers.  But  Henry 
interfered.  "  Don't  let  us  think  of  going  into 
the  wholesale  trade,"  he  said ;  '•  let  us  stick  to 
the  old  course." 

"  We  can  but  try  a  little  extension  in  a  small 
way,"  urged  Samuel ;  "  there  is  no  risk."  Henry 
was  again  obliged  to  give  way,  for  there  was 
no  resisting  a  mind  so  ardent  and  resolute  as 
Samuel's.  And  before  long,  the  Budgctts  sup- 
plied groceries  to  a  large  number  of  little  shops 
dotting  the  country  round ;  for  England,  you 
know,  is  more  thickly  settled  than  this  country 
is,  and  there  was  a  large  population  in  and 
around  Bristol. 

An  opportunity  soon  opened  for  further  ex- 
tension. And  it  is  the  work  of  a  sagacious 
mind  to  perceive  these  opportunities  when  they 
occur,  and  to  take  advantage  of  them.  It  is 
this  which  promises  success  to  the  merchant. 

The  firm  bought  a  large  quantity  of  butter 
very  cheap ;  in  a  few  days,  a  rise  in  the  price  of 
butter  took  place  in  the  market.  *'  I  will  take 
this  occasion,"  said  Samuel,  "  to  visit  some  of 
the  large  stores  and  offer  to  trade,  for  in  this 
case  it  will  evidently  be  for  their  advantage  to 
buy."  With  him  to  purpose  was  to  act,  and 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.       53 

therefore  he  undertook  a  journey  into  some  of 
the  large  towns  ;  but  when  it  came  to  the  point, 
he  felt  a  little  hesitation  about  facing  men  more 
largely  engaged  in  trade.  He  however  soon 
dashed  that  away ;  but  he  encountered,  as  he 
feared,  many  rudenesses  and  rebuffs.  "  Where 
are  you  from  ?"  asked  a  man,  in  reply  to  his 
offers  of  the  butter.  "Kings wood,"  answered 
Samuel.  "  Kingswood !"  cried  the  man  scorn- 
fully ;  "  you  had  better  go  back  to  Kingswood 
and  mind  your  shop,  and  not  try  to  sell  us  goods 
at  Frome."  Kingswood,  you  know,  had  a  poor 
reputation,  and  people  were  slow  to  believe 
any  good  thing  could  come  out  of  Kingswood. 
These  rebuffs  did  not  discourage  the  young 
man — not  they.  Besides,  he  succeeded  in  get- 
ting a  few  orders  for  his  butter,  for  there  were 
sensible  men  found  who  were  willing  to  lay 
aside  their  pride,  and  candidly  to  acknowledge 
it  was  for  their  advantage  to  buy  even  from 
a  shop  at  Kingswood.  In  a  month  he  went 
around  again,  visited  the  same  stores,  met  with 
pretty  much  the  same  sort  of  treatment,  served 
faithfully  his  few  customers,  and  perhaps  got 
one  or  two  more.  Little  by  little  he  gained 
upon  the  prejudices  of  the  people.  Nothing 


54  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

damped  him.   "Try,  try  again,"  was  his  motto. 
"No  gains  without  pains." 

Never  a  single  customer  was  neglected.  The 
humblest  was  served  with  the  same  promptness 
and  attention  as  the  largest.  With  such  reso- 
lution and  energy,  no  wonder  that  business 
grew  surprisingly,  and  that  the  foundation  of  a 
wholesale  trade  was  laid  on  a  firm  footing. 
People  began  to  stare,  and  look  astonished. 
"What  are  the  Budgetts  about?"  they  said; 
and  what  was  still  more  remarkable,  they 
thought  every  body  that  dealt  with  them  seem- 
ed to  thrive  also,  for  I  suppose  the  firm 
breathed  its  own  energy  into  every  body  that 
came  in  contact  with  it.  That  is  the  great 
advantage  of  being  connected  with  men  of 
thorough  business  habits  ;  you  get  their  habits. 
Of  Samuel's  perseverance  you  have  had  good 
proof;  now  let  us  glance  at  his  notions  of 

HONESTY. 

At  the  time  he  began  business,  pepper  in 
England  lay  under  a  heavy  tax.  In  conse- 
quence of  it,  pepper  was  commonly  adulter- 
ated ;  in  almost  every  grocery  store  there 
might  be  seen  a  cask  labelled  P.  D.,  (pepper 
dust,)  filled  with  dust  resembling  pepper,  with 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.       55 

which  real  pepper  was  mixed  before  it  was 
sold  ;  of  course,  a  very  much  adulterated  arti- 
cle. It  had  grown  into  a  custom  of  the  trade, 
and  men  regarded  honest  did  it  without  stop- 
ping to  think,  or  to  question  the  principle 
which  it  involved. 

A  cask  with  P.  D.  marked  on  it  was  also 
found  in  Henry  Budgett's  store.  As  soon  as 
Samuel  had  a  responsibility  in  the  store,  his 
conscience  began  to  grumble.  That  "every 
body  did  so/"  was  an  argument  of  no  weight 
with  him.  If  every  body  did  wrong,  it  became 
him,  then,  to  do  right.  It  was  "  only  a  trick 
of  the  trade."  But  he  did  not  believe  in  a  trade 
that  had  tricks,  or  that  could  stoop  to  tricks,  in 
order  to  live.  The  more  he  thought  of  it,  the 
more  he  hated  the  sight  of  that  ugly  cask.  It 
was  neither  more  or  less  than  a  hypocrite,  and 
he  liked  genuine  things,  goods  or  men.  Besides, 
he  was  very  sure  he  could  not  dare  ask  the  bless- 
ing of  God  upon  the  use  it  was  put  to,  and  this 
decided  him.  He  resolved  instantly  to  act.  It 
was  night.  He  went  into  the  store,  rolled  out 
the  cask  down  to  the  old  quarry  where  he  used, 
when  a  boy,  to  pass  a  portion  of  his  Sabbaths, 
and  there  he  stove  it  in,  and  scattered  the 


56  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

P.  D.  to  the  four  winds.  His  conscience  was 
clear.  After  he  got  home  and  was  in  bed,  he 
remembered  the  staves ;  there  was  no  need  of 
•wasting  them,  he  thought ;  and  the  first  thing 
the  next  morning  he  went  to  the  quarry,  gath- 
ered them  up,  and  put  them  aside  for  a  better 
use. 

This  is  what  Christian  principle  docs.  It  is 
often  said,  there  is  more  or  less  deception  in 
trade,  and  that  few  articles  are  genuine  where 
there  can  be  clever  cheating.  We  should  be 
very  sorry  to  believe  this,  or  to  suppose  that 
success  in  business  must  in  any  way  depend 
upon  deception ;  or  that  the  many  Christian 
men  engaged  in  trade  would  for  one  moment 
lend  themselves  to  underhand  dealings,  or  to 
any  practices  that  would  shun  the  daylight  of 
common  honesty. 

On  another  occasion,  a  man  professing  to  be 
a  Christian  came  to  Samuel  one  day,  offering 
to  tell  him  a  secret  which  would  put  him  in  the 
way  of  making  a  good  deal  of  money.  Upon 
what  conditions  the  secret  was  disclosed,  I  do 
not  know ;  but  it  proved  to  be  a  receipt  for 
making  sham  vinegar  at  a  very  slight  cost. 

"  What,"  cried  Samuel  Budget,  when  he  fairly 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.      57 

found  out  what  it  was,  "  do  you  want  to  lead  me 
into  a  dealing  like  this?  If  you  are  resolved 
to  go  to  hell  yourself,  why  should  you  try  to 
drag  me  with  you  ?"  I 

The  man  found  himself  at  the  wrong  coun- , 
ter  to  peddle  sham  wares.     And  the  young 
merchant's  honest  indignation  he  did  not  prob- 
ably soon  forget.    Indeed,  he  believed  there 
was  a  right  way  to  do  almost  every  thing. 

See  what  principle  he  infused  into,  and  what 
a  value  ho  put  upon  a  virtue  too  much  neg- 
lected, if  not  quite  despised,  in  these  days, 
but  a  virtue  of  great  price,  the  virtue  of 
ECONOMY. 

Passing  through  a  chamber  in  one  of  his 
warehouses  one  day,  where  a  new  hand  was  at 
work  cutting  out  paper  bags  to  be  used  in  the 
shop,  he  immediately  saw  that  the  boy  did  not 
do  his  work  in  the  best  manner,  for  he  wasted 
both  time  and  paper.  He  stopped  and  kindly 
showed  the  lad  how — how  to  improve — how  to 
make  paper  bags  right,  cutting  out  several  bags 
himself,  and  pointing  out  the  economy  to  be 
used  in  the  use  of  the  material,  for  even  paper 
was  not  to  be  wasted. 

"  Of  course,"  he  said  to  the  youth,  "  it  would 


58  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

be  wronging  me  for  you  to  continue  to  make  the 
bags  your  way,  and  I  suppose  you  would  not 
wish  to  injure  your  employer,  even  in  so  small 
a  thing  as  this.  But  think  for  a  moment  of 
the  injury  you  would  be  doing  to  yourself  if, 
when  you  have  a  business  of  your  own,  you 
have  not  learned  how  to  manage  it  with  econ- 
omy ;  and  you  must  take  your  first  lessons  in 
economy  in  things  of  this  kind." 

Even  an  old  nail  had  its  value.  Two  or  three 
boys  were  kept  in  the  establishment,  after  it 
became  large,  whose  sole  business  was  to  pick 
up  and  hammer  out  old  nails.  This  was  the 
first  thing  a  boy  was  set  to  do.  If  he  ham- 
mered out  old  nails  well,  he  was  put  to  mend 
bags  under  the  master  bag-mender  ;  this  was  his 
first  step  in  promotion :  if  he  mended  bags  well, 
he  was  promoted  to  be  a  messenger  ;  and  so  he 
rises  from  step  to  step,  according  to  his  ability 
and  industry.  But  the  foundation  of  promotion 
and  success  is  laid  in  doing  the  best  you  can  at 
the  anvil,  or  on  the  old  bags. 

Little  things  were  never  for  one  moment  to 
be  neglected  because  they  were  little.  Boys, 
as  clerks  or  in  work-shops,  often  grumble  at 
the  small  and  insignificant  things  which  they  at 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.      59 

first  are  often  employed  about.  They  do  not 
know  that  these  are  tests  of  their  ability  and 
disposition  to  work.  They  do  not  know  how 
much  depends  upon  doing  these  well — taking 
pains  to  do  them  well.  And  many  a  boy  has 
left  a  good  place  from  a  false  notion  that  he 
was  not  doing  much,  because  his  tasks  were 
humble  ;  forgetting  that  fidelity  to  these  Avas  the 
only  sure  stepping-stone  to  higher  duties.  Let 
boys  try  always  to  remember  that  little  habits, 
like  all  little  things,  more  than  make  up  by 
their  number  what  they  seem  to  lack  in  individ- 
ual importance.  They  are  the  true  seeds  of 
character.  We  might  as  well  plant  acorns  and 
not  expect  them  to  grow,  as  cherish  small  vices 
and  bad  habits,  and  not  expect  them  to  increase ; 
or  as  reasonably  expect  to  see  the  fine  and  no- 
ble oak  where  no  acorns  were  planted,  as  true 
greatness  and  success  in  life  where  the  seed- 
lings of  a  thousand  habits  of  industry  and  vir- 
tue had  not  been  first  carefully  cultivated. 

PUNCTUALITY  was  another  of  these  little 
habits  to  which  Samuel  Budgett  attached  great 
importance  in  all  the  great  and  small  affairs  of 
life.  And  punctual  himself,  he  took  pains  to 
make  his  clerks  and  workmen  so.  As  business 


60  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

increased,  a  largo  number  of  persons  were  em- 
ployed. "  When  I  first  knew  the  business,"  said 
an  old  man,  "it  had  only  five  men  and  three 
horses ;  now,  three  hundred  men  and  one  hun- 
dred horses  are  no  more  than  enough."  And 
all  these  he  was  anxious  to  educate  into  that 
measure  of  promptness  and  efficiency  which 
would  make  their  services  of  value.  Ilis  own 
example  must  have  been,  powerful.  But  I 
suppose  he  found  something  more  was  neces- 
sary to  stimulate  dull  minds  and  quicken  lag- 
ging feet,  and  he  accordingly  adopted  a  plan, 
which  Mr.  Arthur  thus  describes.  "At  six 
o'clock  work  began.  By  the  side  of  the  gate 
which  admitted  the  men  into  the  wide  enclo- 
sure where  business  was  transacted,  hung  a 
black-board  divided  into  squares ;  each  square 
was  numbered  and  contained  a  nail,  and  on 
this  nail  hung  a  little  copper  plate.  Each  man 
had  his  number,  and  as  he  went  out  for  the 
night,  he  took  his  plate  with  him,  leaving  of 
course  his  number  exposed  on  the  board.  As  he 
entered  he  hung  the  plate  on  his  nail,  so  covering 
his  number.  The  moment  the  bell  ceased  ring- 
ing— for  there  was  a  bell  for  business  hours — • 
the  board  was  taken  down,  and  all  whose  num- 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.       61 

bers  were  not  covered  were  marked  defaulters. 
Those  whose  names  were  not  found  on  the  list 
of  defaulters  at  the  end  of  the  year,  were  hand- 
somely rewarded."  The  men  liked  it ;  it  braced 
them  up,  and  although  many  came  three  or  four 
miles,  they  made  it  a  point  to  be  in  season. 

Mr.  Budgett  never  allowed  himself  to  be  a 
minute  late  in  keeping  his  engagements ;  he  felt 
he  had  no  right  to  steal  others'  time:  and  if 
any  thing  providentially  did  hinder  him  on  the 
way,  lie  made  sincere  apologies,  even  to  a  child. 

"With  all  this  punctuality  came  DISPATCH. 
During  the  busy  season,  after  their  business 
had  greatly  increased,  the  men  were  often  kept 
at  work  until  ten  or  eleven  o'clock  at  night. 
This  greatly  troubled  Mr.  Samuel  Budgett ;  he 
could  not  bear  to  have  it  so. 

"The  men  ought  to  be  at  home  with  their 
families,"  he  would  say  ;  "  they  ought  not  to  be 
here."  By  rearranging  matters,  the  bell  to 
leave  off  work  was  rung  at  half  past  eight.  But 
this  did  not  long  satisfy  him.  "  I  do  not  like  to 
see  you  here,"  he  would  say ;  "  you  must  be  at 
home  evenings ;  you  must  have  time  for  read- 
ing ;  you  must  have  opportunity  to  take  care  of 
your  souls ;  we  must  get  done  sooner  here." 


62  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

He  then  fixed  upon  seven  o'clock  to  leave : 
that,  people  said,  was  impossible ;  business  could 
not  be  finished.  But  that  which  was  best  and 
right  to  do,  Mr.  Budgett  thought  could  be  done. 
He  did  not  stick  at  small  difficulties,  or  create 
impossibilities  out  of  mere  difficulties.  He 
meant  to  do  right  by  his  men,  whether  or  no. 
He  finally  pitched  upon  six  o'clock  as  the  reg- 
ular hour  to  quit  work.  And  such  was  the 
energy,  method,  and  dispatch  infused  into  every 
department  of  labor  throughout  this  great  ware- 
house, one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  long,  by 
three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  at  its  greatest 
depth,  that  six  o'clock  found  the  clerks,  sales- 
men, porters,  wagoners,  coopers,  and  I  do  not 
know  how  many  others,  with  their  day's  work 
done,  and  well  done.  As  you  pass  from  loft  to 
loft,  office  to  office,  yard  to  yard,  visit  the  sta- 
bles where  forty  or  fifty  horses  are  stabled,  the 
carpenter's  shop,  the  cooper's  shop,  you  perhaps 
wonder  how  they  ever  get  through.  What  mul- 
titudes of  cheeses ;  how  many  tierces  of  sugar ; 
then  the  bags  of  coffee,  heaps  of  canary-seed, 
chests  of  tea,  flour-barrels  and  flour-bags,  rai- 
sins, etc.  The  Budgetts  were  "general  pro- 
duce merchants,"  and  you  can  guess  the  variety 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.       63 

and  the  quantity  of  things  housed  under  their 
ample  roof. 

"  But  are  not  the  men  hurried  and  flurried  ?" 
Nothing  was  more  remarkable  about  this  gigan- 
tic hive,  than  the  "marvellous  order"  which 
everywhere  prevailed.  There  was  no  confu- 
sion, no  clashing.  And  it  was  very  evident 
that  every  body,  from  the  boy  who  was  picking 
up  crooked  nails  to  the  soberest  clerk  at  his 
desk,  felt  each  that  he  had  a  responsible  work 
to  do  ;  and  that  it  was  his  interest  and  happi- 
ness, no  less  than  his  duty,  to  do  it  well. 

Well-doing  had  its  reward.  Mr.  Budgett 
knew  the  characters  of  the  men  in  his  employ- 
ment. He  made  their  characteristics  and  hab- 
its a  study.  He  sympathized  with  them,  invit- 
ed their  confidence,  counselled  them,  visited 
their  families,  and  showed  them  that  he  was 
not  only  or  merely  the  head  of  affairs,  but  their 
friend,  and  their  best  interests  he  wished  to 
further  as  well  as  his  own. 

One  of  his  men  said  he  would  get  twice  as 
much  out  of  them  as  any  other  master.  How ; 
by  overworking  them?  We  have  seen  that 
was  not  the  way,  but  by  teaching  them  how  to 
work  skilfully ;  by  an  honest  sympathy  with, 


64  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

and  a  hearty  appreciation  of  tlieir  labors,  and 
by  rewarding  them  according  to  their  diligence 
and  improvement. 

"  Remember  the  gothic  door,"  was  sometimes 
whispered  into  the  ear  of  an  idler — if  idlers 
were  indeed  allowed  a  place  there,  which  may 
be  doubted — at  any  rate,  into  the  ear  of  any 
ehowing  a  disposition  to  shirk  or  lag. 

"Remember  the  gothic  door."  What  did 
this  mean  ?  The  gate,  I  suppose,  through  which 
the  men  passed  out  at  night,  was  of  a  gothic 
form;  for  here  Mr.  Budgett  was  often  found 
standing  on  Friday  night,  his  pocket  looking 
very  portly,  and  a  basket  in  hand  filled  with 
small  packages.  As  the  men  passed  him,  he 
gave  a  parcel  to  one  and  to  another,  which  on 
being  opened  when  they  got  home,  were  found 
to  contain  five  shillings,  or  three  shillings,  or  a 
crown,  or  half  a  crown,  or  something  to  show 
his  estimate  of  their  industry  and  faithfulness. 
Nor  were  the  boys  forgotten.  They  also  re- 
ceived their  pennies,  as  few  or  many  as  their 
diligence  deserved ;  for  the  deserving  were 
never  overlooked. 

"  He  never  had  a  good  year,  but  I  was  the 
better  for  it  when  stock-taking  came,"  said  one. 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.      65 

"  At  stock-taking  he  has  sometimes  given  me 
a  hundred  pounds,"  said  another  who  had  been 
long  in  his  service,  after  relating  the  pains  Mr. 
Budgett  had  taken  to  make  him  what  he  was. 

"  He  was  a  man  as  had  no  pleasure  in  muckin 
up  money,"  adds  another.  "  Why,  he  would 
often  in  that  way  give,  aye,  I  believe,  twenty 
pounds  on  a  Friday  night — well,  at  any  rate, 
fifteen." 

To  his  clerks  and  other  men  in  the  employ- 
ment, he  would  often  reply,  " My  business?  It 
is  not  my  business,  but  ours"  He  wanted  every 
body  to  feel  a  joint  interest  in  the  concern,  an 
affectionate  participation  in  all  its  fortunes. 

After  stock-taking,  which  began  at  twelve 
o'clock  on  a  certain  day,  and  was  all  finished 
up  long  before  twelve  at  night,  a  supper  was 
usually  given  to  the  men,  besides  on  other  oc- 
casions when  they  were  gathered  together  for 
social  enjoyment  and  recreation.  Here  is  a 
short  notice  of  one  of  these  occasions,  taken 
from  a  Bristol  paper,  which  will  give  you  some 
idea  of  what  they  were.  You  will  see  it  was 
after  Mr.  Budgett  had  been  long  in  business, 
and  after  his  store  had  been  removed  from 
Kingswood  to  Bristol,  the  occasion  of  which  I 


66  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

shall  relate  to  you.    His  home  always  remained 
at  Kingswood. 

"  On  Friday  last,"  says  the  newspaper,  "  the 
neighborhood  of  Nelson-street  was  enlivened 
by  a  gay  and  busy  movement  in  the  establish- 
ment of  Messrs.  Budgett.  The  annual  festival 
given  to  their  men  was  on  this  occasion  pro- 
vided" for  them  at  the  country  residence  of  one 
of  the  partners,  Samuel  Budgett,  Esq.,  of  Kings- 
wood  Hill.  Coaches,  omnibuses,  and  carriages 
of  nearly  every  description,  were  put  in  requi- 
sition to  carry  the  inmates  of  this  hive  of  in- 
dustry to  the  spot.  Ample  preparation  was 
there  found  for  the  recreation  both  of  the  body 
and  the  mind.  At  two  o'clock,  about  two 
hundred  of  their  business  staff  sat  down  to  a 
sumptuous  dinner  in  the  open  air  on  the  lawn 
near  the  house,  where  the  '  good  cheer '  found  a 
cordial  welcome  and  a  hearty  dispatch.  This 
being  ended,  the  party  was  soon  joined  by  their 
wives  and  friends,  to  spend  with  each  other  the 
remainder  of  the  day.  There  were  athletic  exer- 
cises, games,  and  a  band  of  music.  The  pleas- 
ure-grounds, fruit-garden,  and  shrubberies  were 
all  thrown  open  to  the  company,  and  never  was 
there  a  scene  of  greater  enjoyment  and  social 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.      67 

union.  In  the  evening  were  three  or  four  hun- 
dred assembled  for  tea  under  a  large  covered 
building,  after  which  some  animated  speeches 
were  delivered  by  the  gentlemen  present,  among 
whom  were  the  clergy  and  ministers  of  each 
denomination  in  the  village. 

"The  day  closed  only  too  quickly,  and  we 
cannot  do  better  than  recommend  a  similar 
experiment  to  all  who  wish  to  cherish  in  their 
business  one  common  feeling  of  interest,  which 
ought  always  to  exist  between  employers  and 
the  employed." 

Among  the  evergreens  used  to  decorate  these 
occasions,  we  pick  out  some  capital  mottoes. 
Let  us  keep  a  few  of  them.  "Perseverance 
surmounts  difficulties.'"''  "May  poverty  be  al- 
ways a  day's  march  behind  us."  "  The  blessing 
of  the  Lord  maketh  rich."  "In  all  labor  there 
is  profit."  "  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to 
do,  do  it  with  all  thy  might."  "  Diligent  in 
business,  fervent  in  spirit." 

But  we  must  penetrate  a  little  further  into 
Mr.  Budgett's  character,  and  into  the  more  se- 
cret places  of  this  great  establishment.  There 
is  one  more  habit  to  be  spoken  of — a  habit,  I 
am  afraid,  seldom  found  in  places  of  business. 


68  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

It  is  one  which  gives  a  hidden  power  to  all 
other  good  habits,  increasing  their  excellency, 
tempering  their  edge,  and  directing  them  as 
means  to  a  great  and  wise  end.  It  is  the  habit 
of  daily  prayer. 

Every  year,  as  soon  as  the  brothers  had  taken 
their  account  of  stock  and  struck  the  balance, 
they  retired  to  an  inner  office,  and  kneeling 
down  before  God,  acknowledged  his  hand  in 
all  the  allotments  of  his  providence,  accepting 
success  with  gratitude,  and  disappointment  and 
failure  with  humble  submission  to  his  holy  will. 

"I  well  remember,"  said  a  gentleman,  "how 
grateful  to  my  own  heart  was  the  discovery 
that  every  youth  in  that  establishment  had  his 
own  private  sleeping-room,  with  the  express 
understanding  that  this  arrangement  was  made 
in  order  that  he  might  feel  himself  alone  with 
his  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  when  at  suitable 
times  he  might  wish  to  retire  to  read  his  Bible, 
meditate,  and  pray." 

"  A  habit  of  daily  prayer,"  Mr.  Arthur  tells 
us,  "  existed  in  the  concern  from  the  beginning. 
When  the  business  was  only  retail,  all  were 
gathered  together  as  a  family  ;  and  when  it 
branched  out,**a  portion  of  the  premises  at 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.       69 

Kings-wood  was  set  apart  as  a  'chapel/  and 
still  stands  there,  serving  many  sacred  pur- 
poses. After  their  removal  to  Nelson-street, 
in  Bristol,  this  admirable  habit  was  maintain- 
ed, and  a  room  was  devoted  to  this  purpose. 
One  of  those  who  knew  every  joint  of  the  es- 
tablishment, who  had  risen  with  it,  and  loved  it 
as  his  own,  remarked  how  this  practice  tended 
to  make  the  men  orderly  and  regular  in  their 
ways,  even  where  decided  piety  was  not  known. 
'  Besides,  sir/  said  the  man,  '  in  this  way  the 
men  get  to  pray  for  the  blessing  of  God  on  the 
business,  and  there  is  a  great  deal  in  that. 
Many  would  like  to  be  as  we  are,  but  they  can- 
not without  the  same  blessing.' " 

In  a  religious  paper  of  1847,  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  article : 

"EXAMPLE  TO  MERCANTILE  ESTABLISH- 
MENTS. 

"  '  Not  slothful  in  business ;  fervent  in  spirit.' 
"  On  the  second  of  November,  after  a  drive 
of  several  miles  from  the  country,  at  half-past 
seven  in  the  morning,  I  dropped  unintention- 
ally into  the  extensive  and  long  warehouses  of 
the  Messrs.  Budgett,  in  Nelson-street.  I  heard 
singing,  the  '  voice  of  rejoicing  and  salvation/ 


70  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS.  '  -s.. 

in  one  of  the  upper  rooms.  The  senior  clerk 
said  to  me,  '  Our  men  are  engaged  in  morning 
prayers;  will  you  not  step  up?  Do,  sir.'  I 
did  so,  and  entered  a  room  thirty  or  forty  feet 
long,  furnished  with  benches  having  comforta- 
ble backs,  closely  placed  ;  and  at  the  upper  end 
was  a  table  and  large  fire.  I  was  surprised 
and  delighted  to  find  from  fifty  to  one  hundred, 
for  every  seat  was  occupied,  chiefly  porters  in 
their  white  frocks,  all  sitting  in  the  stillness 
and  seriousness  of  family  devotion.  At  the 
table  sat  an  interesting,  devout  laborer,  giving 
out  one  of  our  beautiful  hymns  with  a  tender- 
ness and  pathos  which  touched  my  heart.  After 
singing,  I  was  requested  to  lead  their  devotions. 
The  Bible  lay  open  on  the  table  at  the  twenty- 
fifth  chapter  of  Matthew.  I  *read  the  appro- 
priate parables  of  the  virgins  and  the  talents. 
We  then  fell  on  our  knees  and  worshipped  the 
God  of  all  commerce  in  earth  or  seas,  when 
every  man  arose  to  attend  the  call  of  active 
duty.  I  felt  it  no  common  privilege  to  join 
with  those  praying  porters  and  devout  clerks  ; 
and  the  scene,  so  good,  and  coming  so  unex- 
pectedly, has  left  an  impression  upon  me  which 
I  shall  not  soon  forget.  Is  not  this  an  example 


BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES  AND  HABITS.      71 

to  all  commercial  establishments — an  example 
worthy  of  general  imitation  ?  Here  is  a  noble 
room  for  the  daily  worship  of  God  in  the  heart 
of  a  range  of  warehouses,  and  the  large  num- 
ber of  hands  employed  therein  have  a  regular 
portion  of  time  allotted  to  them  for  that  holy 
purpose.  Precision,  order,  energy,  and  exact- 
ness, are  principles  engraved  on  every  depart- 
ment of  the  vast  business  conducted  here.  But 
every  thing  is  'sanctified  by  the  word  of  God 
and  prayer ;'  and  therefore  it  is  no  matter  of 
surprise  to  those  who  have  faith  in  the  Bible, 
that  the  proprietor  of  this  exemplary  mercan- 
tile establishment,  in  addition  to  his  having 
much  peace  and  piety  among  his  men,  has  risen 
from  low  and  small  beginnings  to  great  wealth 
and  prosperity.  '  Him  that  honoreth  me,  I  will 

honor.' 

"A  WESLEYAN  MINISTER." 


72  -      NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 


CHAPTER  IT. 

HIDDEN  LIFE  — FIRE  — THE  CHILDREN— DOING 
GOOD. 

You  will  perhaps  like  to  leave  business  and 
follow  Mr.  Budgett  home,  or  go  with  him  by 
the  way,  and  observe  him  in  his  daily  paths. 
Soon  after  he  entered  into  partnership  with 
Henry,  he  married  a  worthy  young  woman, 
and  took  a  little  cottage  in  a  lane  opposite  the 
shop.  Was  he  mainly  bent  on  getting  ahead 
in  the  world  ?  Did  his  business  chiefly  occupy 
him?  Let  us  see.  A  little  record  was  found, 
which  discloses  his  inward  thought  at  this  in- 
teresting period,  when  the  young  couple  were 
beginning  the  journey  of  life  together.  It  is 
dated  Jan.  24,  1822. 

"Resolved,  1.  To  seek  a  deeper  sense  and 
clearer  discovery  of  my  awful  state  through  sin. 

"  2.  To  seek  to  get  satisfactory  evidence  that 
I  am  accepted  through  Christ. 

"  3.  To  make  the  service  of  God,  and  obedi- 
ence to  the  dictates  of  his  Spirit,  the  supreme 
object  of  my  life. 

"  4.  To  begin  to  redeem  time ;  to  be  more 


HIDDEN  LIFE.  73 

moderate  in  my  eating,  drinking,  and  sleeping, 
and  to  endeavor  to  make  one  word  pass  for 
two,  in  order  that  my  soul  may  grow  in^grace 
and  be  happy  ;  and  all  this  I  would  do  in  hum- 
ble dependence  on  the  continual  help  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

"  5.  To  read  every  day  a  chapter  or  two  of 
Scripture." 

Let  every  one  read  and  ponder  these.  The 
young  merchant  set  apart  seasons  for  rigid 
self-examination.  He  remembered  there  was 
a  Judge  on  high  who  was  an  exact,  though  not 
a  hard  master,  to  whom  the  thoughts  and  the 
intents  of  the  heart  are  known. 

The  following  account  with  himself  was  found 
in  pencil  among  his  papers,  dated  a  few  years 
after  the  last. 

"SUNDAY  EVENING,  Aug.  3, 1823. 
1.  I  am  conscious  I  have  thought  of  myself 
more  highly  than  I  ought  to  think. 

"  2.  I  have  sacrificed  to  my  own  net,  and 
burnt  incense  to  my  own  drag. 

"  3.  I  have  ascribed  my  success  to  my  own 
wisdom. 

"  4.  I  have  boasted  of  what  I  have  received 
as  if  I  had  not  received  it. 


74  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

"  5.  I  have  gloried  in  very  many  things,  save 
the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  6.  I  have  desired  the  praise  of  man,  and 
taken  pleasure  in  it. 

"  7.  I  have  repeatedly  given  way  to  foolish 
desires. 

"  10.  rifave  often  allowed  myself  to  speak,  if 
not  lies,  yet  what  was  not,  in  the  strict  sense, 
truth  in  the  love  thereof. 

"  12.  I  have  not  labored  to  do  whatsoever  I 
did  to  the  glory  of  God. 

"13.  I  have  indulged  my  bodily  appetites." 

You  see  how  strict  and  searching  he  was 
with  himself.  Secret  sins,  lurking  within  the 
soul,  ho  hunted  out,  brought  to  light,  and  was 
greatly  oppressed  on  account  of  them. 

"  I  shall  never  be  happy,"  he  says,  "  until  I 
find  a  Saviour  from  the  love,  the  power,  the 
guilt,  and  the  sad  effects  of  sin.  I  believe  such 
a  Saviour  is  provided,  but  he  is  not  my  Saviour  ; 
yet  I  am  resolved  to  try  if  I  cannot  find  him. 
I  will  seek  him  first  and  oftenest,  and  with  the 
utmost  diligence,  for  I  am  in  danger  till  I  do 
find  him." 

With  all  the  prosperity  which  began  to  roll 
in  upon  the  firm  after  Samuel  joined  it,  he  did 


A  FIRE.  75 

not  neglect  to  make  the  prosperity  of  his  soul 
of  chief  account.  He  never  lost  sight  of  his 
treasure  in  heaven,  or  forgot  that  it  was  of  far 
higher  value  than  any  earthly  riches. 

"AN  ALARMING-  FIRE." 

Under  this  head  what  do  we  find  ?  "  About 
half-past  seven  on  Tuesday  evening,"  what  year 
I  do  not  know,  "  great  alarm  was  felt  through- 
out Bristol  by  the  appearance  upon  the  horizon 
of  a  fire,  evidently  of  immense  extent,  the  heav- 
ens being  completely  lit  up  with  it,  at  about 
five  or  six  miles  distant.  Large  crowds  of 
people  immediately  congregated  upon  Kings- 
down  and  the  various  hills,  and  conjecture  was 
rife  as  to  where  it  was  raging.  The  arrival  of 
an  express  messenger  on  horseback  for  engines 
and  firemen,  brought  the  news  that  the  confla- 
gration was  upon  the  premises  of  Messrs.  H. 
II.  &  S.  Budgett,  at  Kingswood  Hill.  The 
Messrs.  Budgett  are  among  the  most  extensive 
flour,  sugar,  tea,  and  general  merchants  in  this 
part  of  the  kingdom,  and  are  well  known 
throughout  England  for  their  extensive  mer- 
cantile transactions.  They  have  several  estab- 
lishments in  Bristol,  but  for  reasons  unknown 


76  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

to  us,  have  always  held  their  central  establish- 
ment at  Kingswood  Hill.  The  fire  was  discov- 
ered by  one  of  their  men,  at  about  quarter  past 
seven,  in  a  room  called  the  ti tier-room,  in  which 
refined  sugars  are  kept ;  and  it  is  supposed 
originated  in  one  of  the  flues  communicating  to 
that  room.  A  messenger  was  instantly  sent  to 
Bristol ;  and  in  the  mean  time  the  alarm  spread 
rapidly  through  the  village  and  neighborhood, 
all  the  inhabitants  of  which  immediately  went 
to  assist  in  subduing  the  fire.  Their  efforts,  it 
was  hoped  at  first,  would  have  been  successful ; 
but  in  a  few  minutes  the  fire  spread  in  a  most 
alarming  manner,  and  speedily  communicated 
with  the  entire  range  of  warehouses.  At  this 
period  the  Norwich  Union  engines  arrived  and 
played  on  the  fire;  the  engines  of  the  other 
offices  also  speedily  arrived.  The  fire  in  the 
warehouses  had,  however,  now  reached  so  great 
a  height  that  it  was  evident  their  total  de- 
struction was  inevitable ;  and  the  efforts  of  all, 
therefore,  were  directed  to  saving  the  adjoining 
dwelling-houses,  upon  which  the  engines  played, 
to  cut  off  communication  with  the  burning 
warehouses.  These  efforts  were  happily  suc- 
cessful, and  both  the  dwelling-houses  and  the 


A  FIEE.  77 

stables  of  the  establishment,  in  which  were 
forty-seven  valuable  horses,  were  saved.  The 
fire  in  the  warehouses  continued  raging  till  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  it  was  got  under ; 
but  not  until  all  the  warehouses,  the  counting- 
rooms,  and  the  retail  shop  had  been  completely 
destroyed.  The  books,  however,  were  saved. 
This  was  most  fortunate,. as  their  loss  to  a  house 
of  such  transactions  as  the  Messrs.  Budgett 
would  have  been  irretrievable.  The  stock  con- 
sumed consisted  of  refined  sugars,  cheese,  coffee, 
teas,  flour,  and  must  have  amounted  to  several 
thousands.  They  had  just  imported  two  large 
cargoes  of  fruit,  and  a  heavy  stock  of  sugars, 
which  were,  however,  in  their  Bristol  ware- 
houses. The  firm  were  insured  to  a  large 
amount — eight  thousand  pounds  in  the  Phenix, 
and  other  sums  in  various  offices." 

Beyond  the  sums  insured,  their  pecuniary  loss 
was  about  fifteen  thousand  dollars ;  a  heavy  and 
unexpected  check  to  the  rising  merchants.  All 
earthly  goods  may  perish  in  a  few  hours.  The 
evening  sun  may  set  on  our  thrift  and  comfort 
and  goodly  possessions  ;  the  morning  sun  may 
rise  on  their  smoking  ruins.  These  pious  mer- 
chants, no  doubt,  accepted  the  disaster  as  the 


78  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

wise  ordering  of  His  providence  who  doetli  all 
things  well,  and  they  set  about  immediately  to 
repair  the  breach  thus  suddenly  and  fearfully 
made  in  their  business. 

What  was  to  be  done?  A  circular  was. is- 
sued and  sent  to  all  their  customers  in  the  morn- 
ing, stating  the  impossibility  of  fulfilling  their 
orders  for  that  day,  but  on  the  next  day  the 
goods  should  be  sent  as  usual.  Mr.  Budgett 
hastened  to  Bristol,  hired  a  building  next  to  a 
small  warehouse  which  he  already  had  in  that 
city,  set  every  body  to  work,  organized  his 
business,  was  in  readiness  to  dispatch  his  goods 
according  to  promise,  and  henceforth  made 
Bristol  the  seat  of  the  firm,  where  it  grew  and 
enlarged  and  prospered,  and  was  perfected  into 
that  remarkable  system  which  made  it  a  model 
mercantile  concern,  worthy  both  of  scrutiny 
and  imitation. 

In  progress  of  time  Mr.  Budgett  bought  the 
old  quarry  hallowed  by  the  Sabbath  memories 
of  his  boyhood,  filled  it  up,  and  made  it  into  a 
beautiful  garden.  The  little  cottage  in  the  lane 
was  in  time  exchanged  for  a  large  and  substan- 
tial dwelling-house,  surrounded  by  green  lawns, 
hedge-rows,  fruit-trees,  and  shade-trees,  in  the 


HIS  MOTHER'S  SICKNESS.  79 

planting  and  growth  of  which  he  took  great 
delight.  All  the  beauties  of  the  outward  world 
he  had  an  eye  to  see  and  a  heart  to  enjoy. 

"  Can  you  help  admiring  the  present  beauti- 
ful weather  ?"  he  says.  "  See  how  spring  and 
summer  are  approaching  already.  The  birds 
sing  merrily ;  the  days  lengthen  fast ;  the  flow- 
ers are  beginning  to  decorate  the  hedges  and 
the  banks ;  the  fields  are  increasing  in  verdure 
and  beauty ;  and  I  hope  you  and  I  shall  endeav- 
or to  keep  pace  with  all  nature  in  praising  our 
Creator  and  Redeemer." 

His  excellent  mother  lived  to  see  the  pros- 
perity and  usefulness  of  her  beloved  son.  The 
last  we  hear  of  her  is  from  a  letter  written  by 
Samuel  to  his  sister  in  January,  1831. 

"I  have  just  returned  from  Winterbourn," 
he  writes,  "  from  beholding  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting sights  this  world  affords  ;  I  mean  the 
happy,  truly  happy,  sick  and  dying  bed  of  a 
saint  ripe  for  glory.  Such  is  our  dear  mother. 
You  have  seen  her.  She  is  not  now  less  happy, 
only  less  sensible  of  her  pain.  Her  soul  still 
triumphs  in  prospect  of  the  glory  which  awaits 
her,  and  which  in  all  probability  she  will  in  a 
few  days  be  introduced  to. 


80  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

" '  Mark  the  perfect  man,'  etc.  How  is  that 
text  illustrated  in  her  experience !  May  it  be 
equally  so  in  yours  and  mine.  In  order  to  that, 
we  have  to  live  the  life  of  the  righteous,  and  we 
are  sure  to  die  the  death.  I  hope,  my  dear  sis- 
ter, you  are  making  progress.  Remember,  we 
are  safe  and  happy  only  as  we  are  vigorously 
pressing  forward.  To  halt  is  to  go  back." 

But  as  the  old  friends  and  beloved  relatives 
of  a  past  generation  dropped  into  their  graves, 
a  new  and  young  generation  was  springing  up 
around  him.  Sons  and.  daughters  were  born 
to  him  ;  nephews  and  nieces  gladdened  him  by 
their  visits;  young  people  loved  to  seek  his 
counsel  and  share  in  his  affections. 

Home  he  endeavored  to  make  a  happy  place 
for  his  children — a  place  where  they  loved  best 
to  be,  and  where  every  innocent  amusement 
was  provided  for  play  hours  and  healthful  rec- 
reation. There  we  find  donkeys  to  ride,  chick- 
ens to  rear,  rabbits,  guinea-pigs,  dogs;  garden 
beds  to  cultivate,  gooseberries  and  currant- 
bushes  to  look  after,  swings,  etc.  Mr.  Budgett 
loved  to  be  with  his  children ;  he  sympathized 
with  them  in  all  their  joys  and  sorrows,  and 
very  early  invited  their  sympathy  with  him. 


HIS  CHILDREN.  81 

lie  used  to  talk  with  them  about  his  business 
and  daily  affairs,  explain  to  them  his  reasons 
for  pursuing  this  or  that  course  of  action,  ask 
their  advice,  disclose  his  perplexities,  and  thus 
teach  them  to  think  and  to  judge  and  feel  upon 
important  matters  at  an  age  when  most  parents 
would  banish  their  children  from  the  family 
councils  to  the  school-room  or  the  playground. 

He  believed  that  children  were  entitled  to  the 
society  of  their  parents  ;  that  it  was  one  mode, 
and  one  important  mode  of  educating  them  in 
the  knowledge,  the  duties,  and  obligations  of 
practical  life.  Parents  perhaps  sometimes  over- 
look this,  and  leave  their  children  to  gain  their 
knowledge  of  the  world  from  intercourse  which 
they  could  the  least  desire. 

But  the  one  great  aim,  the  one  constant  prayer 
for  his  children,  was  their  conversion  to  God. 
Less  than  that  gave  no  satisfaction  to  his  soul. 
They  were  surrounded  by  every  influence  favor- 
able to  Christian  nurture — the  family  altar, 
the  sacred  keeping  of  the  Sabbath,  godly  ac- 
quaintance, works  of  Christian  charity,  sympa- 
thy with  every  good  thing ;  and  yet  this  pious 
father  felt  that  something  more  was  necessary 
to  renew  and  sanctify  the  heart — the  influence 

No  I'air.s.  6 


82  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  was  instant  in  season 
and  out  of  season  in  parental  faithfulness  to 
bring  them  to  a  like  precious  faith  in  Christ, 
which  was  the  sun  and  the  joy  of  his  own  soul. 
The  following  letter  shows  the  tender  concern 
of  a  pious  father's  heart. 

"  MY  DEAR  SARAH  ANN — Your  kind  note  I 
duly  received  by  the  hand  of  your  brother 
James,  for  which  I  thank  yon.  Be  assured  that 
it  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  know  that  I  am 
affectionately  remembered  by  any  member  of 
my  family,  and  especially  by  our  little  daugh- 
ter. I  hope  you  are  trying  to  be  a  good  girl. 
If  you  knew  how  much  the  happiness  of  those 
who  love  you  depended  on  your  conduct,  I  think 
that  if  nothing  else  proved  a  sufficient  motive 
to  good  behavior,  that  would ;  but  then  my 
dear  little  girl  knows  very  well  that  her  own 
happiness,  both  in  this  world  and  the  next,  de- 
ponds  upon  her  giving  her  heart  to  God.  Do 
not,  my  dear  child,  live  one  hour  without  being 
satisfied  that  God  is  just  now  pleased  with  you, 
that  is,  that  you  have  his  favor ;  for  we  are 
happy  if  we  share  his  smile,  his  counsel,  and 
his  care.  May  you,  my  child,  be  truly  devoted 


HIS  CHILDREN.  83 

to  God  in  youth,  and  then  you  will  bo  prepared 
for  a  useful  life,  or  for  early  death.  You  may 
write  me  as  often  as  you  please,  and  I  will  try 
to  answer  your  letters.  Tell  me  all  the  work- 
ings of  your  little  mind,  all  your  hopes  and  all 
your  fears,  all  your  joys  and  all  your  sorrows." 

And  this  faithful  and  praying  parent  did 
have  the  happiness  of  seeing  his  children,  one 
by  one,  early  in  life  become  penitent  believers 
in  Christ ;  walking  in  the  path  of  his  com- 
mandments, growing  in  the  knowledge  of  God, 
and  with  "ready  mind  and  active  will"  fulfil- 
ling the  duties  of  the  Christian  life.  Few  par- 
ents can  write  as  here  follows  : 

"  MY  DEAR  LITTLE  SALLY — Your  kind  letter 
to  mamma  we  duly  received,  and  I  should  have 
written  to  you  before  now,  but  I  have  been  very 
unwell,  so  weak  that  I  have  scarcely  been  able 
to  read  or  write  ;  but  I  am  thankful  to  inform 
you  I  am  now  getting  better,  and  I  hope  soon 
to  recover  my  strength.  I  assure  you,  we  think 
and  talk  of  you  very  often,  and  we  do  not  cease 
to  pray  for  you.  What  a  mercy  it  is,  my  dear 
child,  that  as  a  family  we  are  all  seeking  our 


84  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

happiness  from  one  source,  and  that  the  right 
one.  How  insignificant  does  every  thing  else 
look  when  compared  with  this,  even  in  this  life, 
and  in  the  possession  of  health,  wealth,  and  all 
that  the  world  calls  great  and  good  ;  but  look 
a  little  further — a  sick-bed,  a  dying  hour,  a 
judgment-day,  all  of  which  will  very  soon  be 
present ;  and  how  then  shall  we  value  all  be- 
sides this  one  thing  needful,  this  divine  love ! 
The  Lord  fill  my  dear  child's  heart ;  and  then 
from  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  will 
speak,  and  you  will,  you  must,  however  uncon- 
sciously, be  made  useful  to  others. 

Tis  worth  living  for  this, 
To  administer  bliss, 
And  salvation  in  Jesus'  name.  - 

I  believe  we  are  all  as  a  family  going  to  heav- 
en. Glory  be  to  God. 

"  Yours,  affectionately, 

"PAPA  AND  MAMMA." 

What  a  fountain  of  holy  joy  does  this  let- 
ter disclose  within  this  Christian  household. 
His  success,  his  prosperity,  his  worldly  connec- 
tions, his  houses  and  his  lands,  all  sink  in  value 
before  the  higher  blessing  of  a  whole  family 
converted  to  'Christ,  members  of  the  household 


HIS  CHILDREN.  85 

of  faith.  "He  blesseth  the  habitation  of  the 
just."  The  happiness  of  how  many  prosperous 
families  is  imbittered  by  the  waywardness,  the 
danger,  the  ruin  of  a  son  ;  the  comfort  of  how 
many  pious  parents  is  destroyed  by  the  irre- 
ligion  and  free-thinking  of  their  children. 
Why  is  this  ?  Is  there  any  such  defect  or  fail- 
ure in  parental  discipline  or  watchfulness  as 
may  serve  as  a  warning  and  corrective  to  the 
anxious  and  perplexed  spirits  of  thousands  of 
other  parents  seeking  to  bring  up  their  chil- 
dren in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord? 

Mr.  Budgett  early  gave  his  sons  responsible 
posts  in  his  business ;  and  as  a  proof  of  the 
confidence  which  he  placed  in  them,  when  the 
oldest  of  his  boys  was  but  twenty-one,  he  al- 
lowed the  four  to  take  a  journey  on  the  conti- 
nent by  themselves,  with  no  confidential  ser- 
vant or  faithful  friend  to  watch  over  their  go- 
ings :  nor  was  the  confidence  misplaced  or 
abused ;  their  virtues  seemed  strengthened  by 
the  very  expectations  which  they  well  under- 
stood their  father  had  of  them. 

The  busy  merchant  and  faithful  father  also 
found  time  to  encourage  and  quicken  the  hearts 


86  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

of  other  youth  besides  those  more  immediately 
related  to  him  by  kindred  or  business. 

"  We  cannot  indeed  too  highly  value  time," 
he  writes  to  a  young  friend.  "  In  this  I  have 
been  truly  deficient.  If  we  would  rise  early, 
we  must  begin  at  the  right  end,  that  is,  by  go- 
ing to  bed  early,  or  all  will  be  lost  labor.  You 
must  have  seven  hours  sleep.  An  alarum  is  a 
very  good  thing ;  but  if  we  neglect  the  call  a 
few  times,  like  the  calls  of  the  Spirit  on  our 
consciences,  it  will  be  ineffectual. 

"  I  am  glad  you  still  retain  love  to  God  after 
seven  years'  experience.  May  it  be  increased 
seven  times  seven.  I  think  nothing  is  so  cal- 
culated to  remove  reserve  as  zeal  for  God  and 
humility.  We  think  too  much  of  ourselves,  and 
not  enough  of  the  importance  of  being  found 
faithful.  May  you,  my  dear  friend,  become 
truly  simple  of  heart,  and  dead  to  the  opinion 
of  others  when  it  stands  in  the  way  of  duty. 
You  have  not  wearied  me.  Your  letters  are 
no  tax  on  my  time.  I  am  always  very  glad  to 
hear  from  you,  and  the  more  freely  you  write  to 
me,  the  more  you  please  me." 

On  another  occasion  we  find  him  thus  writing 
to  a  young  Sabbath-school  teacher. 


HIS  CHILDREN.  87 

"  MY  VEEY  DEAR  FRIEND — I  am  truly  thank- 
ful that  God  has  so  graciously  inclined  your 
heart  to  seek  your  happiness  where  alone  true 
enjoyment  can  be  found,  and  that  He  has  not 
only  blessed,  but  made  you  a  blessing. 

"  If  you  are  faithful,  He  will  give  you  grace 
to  lose  yourself  in  him,  as  a  drop  in  the  ocean, 
and  your  prayers  will  be  frequently  offered  and 
graciously  answered. 

•" '  Keep  me  dead  to  all  below, 
Only  Christ  resolved  to  know, 
Firm  and  disengaged  and  free, 
Seeking  all  my  bliss  in  thee.' 

"  You  will  feel  so  impressed  with  the  value 
of  souls  and  your  responsibility  to  God,  that 
you  will  never  rest  until  all  the  girls  in  your 
class  arc  brought  from  darkness  to  light.  I  re- 
member a  young  person  who  had  thirteen  schol- 
ars, and  for  several  years  she  saw  but  little 
fruit  of  her  labor,  until  she  was  almost  discour- 
aged ; .  but  instead  of  giving  up,  she  began  to 
wrestle  with  God  in  earnest,  persevering,  faith- 
ful prayer  ;  and  in  a  short  time  one  of  the  girls 
showed  a  serious  concern  for  her  spiritual  wel- 
fare, and  began  to  inquire  with  deep  anxiety 
what  she  must  do  to  be  saved.  This  soon 


88  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

spread  through  the  class,  and  in  a  few  months 
every  child  gave  satisfactory  evidence  that  her 
heart  was  changed." 

One  favorite  mode  of  doing  good  was  the  time- 
ly lending  of  religious  books  and  tracts.  Chris- 
tian biography  he  regarded  as  choice  reading, 
as  tending  to  quicken  growth  in  grace,  and  urge 
us  on  in  the  divine  life. 

"  But  all  good  things  require  to  be  read  pray- 
erfully, and  in  faith,"  he  says.  "  And  are  we 
not  too  apt  to  think  there  was  something  pecul- 
iar in  the  individuals,  rather  than  in  the  faith  by 
which  they  derived  all  their  excellences  ?  The 
fountain  of  all  good  is  as  full  and  as  free  of  ac- 
cess now,  and  to  us,  as  ever  it  was  to  them ;  and 
we  have  only  to  exercise  the  same  faith,  and  all 
the  good  will  be  as  surely  ours  as  ever  it  was 
theirs." 

Thus  he  extracted  good  where  others  per- 
haps only  sought  enjoyment.  "  No  gains  with- 
out pains,"  in  self-knowledge  or  religious  im- 
provement. 

He  seldom,  went  out  to  walk,  or  for  a  drive, 
without  a  bundle  of  tracts  or  a  pocketful  of 
little  books.  And  one  room  in  his  house  was 
indeed  a  sort  of  Tract  and  Sabbath-school  book 


DOING-  G-SOD.  89 

depository,  lined  with  shelves,  where  he  kept  a 
large  stock  on  hand  for  distribution.  It  was 
seldom  lean  or  empty,  for  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  replenishing  it  every  now  and  then  by  fifty 
dollars'  worth  of  reading  at  a  time. 

"  With  respect  to  his  liberality  to  the  cause  of 
God,  he  far  excelled  any  one  that  /  ever  met  with 
in  the  church  of  Christ,"  said  a  clergyman  who 
knew  him  well ;  and  this  we  can  readily  believe. 

When  an  application  was  made  to  him  for 
any  benevolent  object,  he  never  was  heard  to 
excuse  himself,  either  wholly  or  jn  part,  from 
it,  by  saying,  "  I  have  had  so  many  cases  lately," 
though  many  he  must  have  had. 

If  asked  by  any  one  who  knew  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case  for  which  his  charity  was 
needed,  his  reply  often  was,  "  Well,  how  much 
do  you  think  I  ought  to  give?"  And  whether  it 
was  five,  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  pounds,  the  sum 
was  cheerfully  given.  Many  a  bank-note  and 
sovereign  did  he  leave  at  the  parsonage,  or  slip 
into  his  minister's  hand,  to  be  distributed  as  he 
thought  necessary  among  the  poor  of  his  flock. 
Nor  did  he  confine  these  benefactions  to  his 
own  pastor ;  the  other  clergymen  of  his  neigh- 
borhood were  often  the  stewards  of  his  bounty. 


90  NO  PAINS.  NO  G-AINS. 

To  give  you  another  instance  of  his  readi- 
ness to  do  good,  and  his  ability  in  carrying  out 
his  plans,  I  will  abbreviate  a  little  story  told 
by  Mr.  Arthur.  One  Sunday  evening,  on  Mr. 
Budgett's  return  from  a  neighboring  village, 
where  he  had  been  exhorting  in  an  evening 
lecture,  he  passed  squads  of  rough-looking,  idle, 
lawless  lads  lounging  on  the  grass,  but  jogging 
on  to  ruin.  He  stopped  and  began  to  talk  with 
them,  and  talked  until  he  secured  their  atten- 
tion. "Now,"  said 'he  at  ending,  "if  I  gave 
you  a  good  J;ea,  would  you  like  to  come  and 
take  it?" 

"  Oh  yes,  oh  yes !"  the  boys  answered.  It 
was  what,  I  fancy,  they  seldom  had. 

"  Come,  then,"  said  Mr.  Budgett  in  his  friend- 
ly tone,  "to  the  vestry  of  Kingswood  chapel 
to-morrow  evening.  We  are  going  to  have  a 
little  meeting,  and  you  shall  have  a  good  tea." 

It  was  to  be  a  tea-meeting  for  the  tract  dis- 
tributers. 

The  boys  came,  tickets  were  handed  them, 
and  they  ate  and  drank  as  hungry  boys  who 
seldom  see  so  nicely  set  tables  might  be  sup- 
posed to  do.  "And  have  you  had  a  good  sup- 
per?" asked  Mr.  Budgett. 


DOING  GOOD.  91 

"  'Ees,  thank  'ee." 

"  I  dare  say  you  know  many  young  men  who 
go  about  in  the  lane  Sunday  night." 

"  0  'ees." 

"  Do  you  think,  if  I  promised  them  a  good 
tea,  they  would  like  to  come  here  ?" 

The  boys  thought  none  of  them  would  object 
to  the  tea ;  but  they  looked  shy,  and  there  was 
a  "but"  in  the  way.  Mr.  Budgett  did  not  stop 
to  inquire  what  it  was ;  but  a  hundred  tickets 
were  soon  made  out,  to  be  handed  to  their  fel- 
lows, all  the  "  Toms,  Dicks,  and  Harrys"  round 
about,  inviting  thejn  to  a  bountiful  treat  at  the 
chapel  hall  on  Mr.  Budgett's  premises.  A  good 
many  of  them  hesitated  about  accepting  the  in- 
vitation ;  "  they  did  not  want  to  be  hooked  into 
a  prayer-meeting,"  they  said.  However,  there 
was  the  promised  treat;  they  were  sure  they 
did  not  want  to  lose  their  chance  at  that ;  so, 
among  the  ringleaders,  the  matter  was  com- 
promised in  this  way  :  they  would  go  and  take 
tea,  and  then  "bolt"  as  soon  as  it  was  over,  for 
they  of. course  concluded  their  host  had  some 
religiou!-;  end  to  be  answered,  and  "  they  had  no 
mind  to  be  done  good  to," 

On  the  appointed  evening  every  thing  was 


92  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

arranged ;  a  hundred  of  them  came,  as  wild, 
uncouth,  and  unpromising  a  set  of  guests  as 
was  ever  gathered  together.  It  was  evident, 
after  a  while,  that  in  one  group  seemed  to  be 
the  "  ringleaders ;"  and  the  coarse  and  boister- 
ous words  which  proceeded  from  it,  seemed  to 
defy  any  attempt  to  tame  or  to  restrain  them. 
But  the  good  merchant  and  his  party  knew  the 
stuff  they  had  to  deal  with.  Towards  the  close 
of  the  supper,  one  of  Mr.  Budgett's  sons,  James 
or  Edwin,  for  both  went  heart  and  hand  with 
their  father  in  his  labors  of  love,  pushed  into 
this  group,  and  began  a  talk  with  the  leader,  a 
rough,  sailor-like  looking  fellow,  who  first  tried 
by  his  wit  and  rudeness  to  put  the  "  young  gen- 
tleman "  down.  It  soon  grew  more  evident 
that  a  preconcerted  signal  to  go  was  near  at 
hand,  when  Mr.  Budgett  went  into  the  desk, 
and  said,  "  I  asked  you  to  come  here  for  the 
purpose  of  doing  something  for  you — some- 
thing that  will  be  of  use  to  you.  Now,  just  as 
a  start,  I  will  give  you  fifty  pounds,  and  you 
must  make  up  your  minds  what  you  will  do 
with  it." 

Fifty  pounds!     They  could  run  away  from 
a  prayer-meeting,  but  to  run  away  from  fifty 


DOING-  GOOD.  93 

pounds  was  quite  another  sort  of  thing,  and 
not  to  be  thought  of.  Hats  were  off,  feet  were 
turned  from  the  door,  and  all  eyes  turned  to 
the  desk. 

"  Fifty  pounds !"  exclaimed  one  of  Mr.  Bud- 
gett's  friends,  who  understood  what  was  his  aim, 
and  yet  was  around  among  his  rough  guests — 
"  fifty  pounds !  that 's  something.  Why,  there 
are  about  a  hundred  of  us  ;  and  suppose  we  di- 
vide it  among  us,  there  will  be  half  a  sovereign 
apiece." 

A  very  agreeable  plan  to  most  of  the  com" 
pany,  no  doubt,  but  very  far  from  the  reckon- 
ing of  their  host. 

"No,  no!'7  started  up  another  friend  of  Mr. 
Budgett;  "it  would  be  very  foolish  to  throw 
away  fifty  pounds  in  such  a  manner.  Can't  we 
put  it  to  some  use  that  will  do  us  good,  and 
make  it  last?"  and  so  the  matter  came  up  for 
a  spirited  discussion  what  use  to  put  the  money 
to,  which  soon  kindled  a  great  interest  even 
among  the  most  stupid  and  depraved  of  the 
street  youth.  And  the  affair  was  so  managed 
that  it  issued  in  a  motion  to  form  a  society  for 
mental  improvement,  to  be  called  the  "Kings- 
wood  Young  Men's  Association."  The  motion 


94  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

was  seconded  and  carried  by  a  strong  vote.  And 
when,  in  the  final  arrangement,  several  of  these 
rough  fellows  were  placed  on  committees  to 
carry  out  their  plans,  it  was  curious  to  witness 
the  surprise,  interest,  and  gratification  which 
lighted  up  their  sharp,  trickish-looking  faces. 
Mr.  Budgett  was  voted  in  treasurer,  and  their 
place  of  meeting  was  appointed  at  the  vestry 
of  the  ^chapel,  after  the  Sunday  evening  service. 
So  far  so  good,  and  the  party  separated  with 
mutual  good-will. 

But  how  many  would  be  likely  to  reappear 
on  the  next  Sabbath  evening?  Sixty  came  ;  and 
the  number  testified  what  encouragement  there 
is  to  labor  even  in  the  most  unpromising  fields. 
Let  Christian  men  and  women  go  to  work  just 
where  they  are,  in  God's  name,  for  the  good  of 
souls,  and  nothing  will  surprise  them  more  than 
the  vanishing  of  discouragements,  and  the  tokens 
of  hope  and  success  which  will  cheer  them  on 
the  way.  "  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do, 
do  it  with  thy  might,"  and  the  moral  heathen- 
ism of  our  villages  and  cities  will  shrink  into 
a  diminished  compass,  if  not  quite  away,  before 
the  warm  affections  and  redeeming  power  and 
living  elements  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 


DOING  GOOD.  95 

That  little  verse  contains  the  vital  principle  of 
the  whole  matter. 

"The  Association"  regularly  held  meetings 
on  Sunday  night,  and  once  a  week  for  secular 
instruction.  A  library  was  bought  with  the 
fifty  pounds,  lectures  were  sometimes  given  by 
the  masters  of  the  Kingswood  schools,  and  year 
by  year  a  tea-meeting  was  given,  at  which  books 
were  sometimes  given  as  rewards. 

According  to  the  great  law  of  Christian  be- 
nevolence, that  the  more  it  does  the  more  it 
wants  to  do,  this  successful  movement  for  the 
moral  improvement  of  the  young  men,  suggested 
to  Mr.  Budgett  the  importance  and  necessity  of 
something  similar  for  the  young  women.  This 
was  accordingly  done.  And  once  a  year,  also, 
the  "Young  Females'  Association"  met  on  his 
grounds,  to  enjoy  a  delicious  supper  on  tea  and 
strawberries.  This,  however,  was  but  a  little 
of  the  real  good  which  they  received  during 
the  year.  These  associations  cost  Mr.  Budgett 
about  two  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and  proved 
to  be  one  of  his  sagacious  and  profitable  invest- 
ments, for  it  gave  him  the  clear  returns  of  num- 
bers saved  from  vice,  the  moral  and  mental  im- 
provement of  many,  and  conversions  to  God  not 


96  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

a  few.  A  Bible  class  he  formed  and  took  charge 
of  among  the  young  women,  which  was  abun- 
dantly blessed  of  God,  and  which  at  the  time 
of  his  death  numbered  forty. 

On  one  occasion  he  said  to  a  friend,  "  Every 
morning,  before  you  leave  your  room,  inquire, 
'  Lord,  what  wouldst  thou  have  me  to  do  ?'  and 
every  evening  ask  yourself,  '  How  much  owest 
thou  unto  thy  Lord?'  Keep  short  reckonings 
with  him,  go  forward,  and  your  path  shall  be 
as  that  of  the  just,  shining  more  and  more  unto 
the  perfect  day." 

Was  not  herein  the  secret  spring  of  his 
labors  ? 


THE  rOOR.  97 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE  POOR— A  SUDDEN  STROKE  — HAPPY 
ENDING-. 

MR.  BUDGETT  was  emphatically  the  poor  man's 
friend,  and  the  poor  always  felt  him  to  be  their 
friend.  In  his  intercourse  with  them,  he  never 
forgot  the  small  courtesies  of  life.  His  friend- 
liness they  never  doubted,  and  therefore  reproof 
and  counsel  they  received  from  him  with  respect 
and  thankfulness,  even  when  not  followed  by 
amendment.  His  words  by  the  way,  were  more 
valuable  than  scatterings  of  gold. 

The  "  hauliers  "  of  the  coal-carts  running  be- 
tween Kingswood  and  Bristol,  a  rough  and  bul- 
lying set  of  fellows,  often  provoking  quarrels 
with  other  travellers  on  the  road,  could  never 
resist  the  pleasant  "good-morning"  of  the  pious 
merchant,  or  scarcely  dare  fire  off  their  volley 
of  oaths  in  his  hearing,  or  show  fight,  if  he 
were  discovered  in  the  distance. 

One  afternoon  as  he  was  driving  a  friend  into 
Bristol,  the  road  in  one  place  was  almost  block- 
ed up  by  the  return  wagons  of  the  "  hauliers," 


98  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

who  had  stopped  and  stepped  in  to  a  neighbor- 
ing inn.  A  boy  was  sent  in  to  call  them  out. 

"  Why,  is  this  you,  B ?"  cried  Mr.  Budgett, 

as  a  stout-built  fellow  with  a  face  begrimed 
with  coal,  came  bustling  out  of  the  house,  draw- 
ing the  back  of  his  hand  across  his  mouth,  fresh 
from  the  can.  "  I  am  sorry  to  see  you  there ; 
here,  come  round  to  me :"  then  lowering  his 

voice,  he  said  kindly,  "B ,  my  poor  fellow, 

you  have  a  wife  and  children  at  home.  Have 
they  any  thing  to  eat?"  "Not  much,  I  be 
afeared,  sir,"  said  the  man,  trying  to  smile, 
though  looking  much  ashamed. 

"Well,  tell  me  now,  how  much  have  you  just 
spent?"  asked  Mr.  Budgett. 

"  Why,  threepence ;  but  I  had  it  gee'd  by  th' 
lady  'at  had  t'  coal." 

"Well,  never  mind  who  gave  it  to  you,  but 
tell  me  what  you  spent  when  you  went  into 
Bristol  this  morning  ?" 

"  Why,  threepence." 

"Well,  the  lady  did  not  give  you  that;  but 
no  matter  how  you  came  by  the  money,  so  it 
was  honestly  got.  What  I  want  you  to  think 
about  is  this :  by  your  own  showing,  you  have 
spent  sixpence  to-day  on  beer  ;  if  you  have  done 


THE  POOR.  99 

the  same  every  day  this  week,  then  you  have 
three  shillings  less  in  your  pocket  than  you 
might  have  had.  Now,  as  you  go  along,  just 
consider  how  many  little  things  that  three  shil- 
lings would  have  bought  for  the  real  comfort  of 
your  wife,  yourself,  and  your  children  ;  you  say 
you  fear  they  have  little  to  eat  at  home  now, 
and  you  have  spent  sixpence  upon  yourself" — 
an  English  sixpence  is  twelve  of  our  cents.  "  Is 
that  kind?  Nay,  don't  make  any  excuses.  I 
know  you  feel  you  have  done  wrong.  Don't, 
my  poor  fellow,  repeat  it.  One  word  more; 
if  you  persist  in  this  habit,  you  will  become  a 
drunkard,  and  the  Bible  tells  you,  '  Drunkards 
shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.'  It  will 
lead  you  into  all  wickedness,  and  the  Bible  tells 
you,  'The  wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell.' 

B ,"  he   added  solemnly,  "think   of  this; 

tell  your  companions  there  what  I  have  said  to 
you;  and  above  all,  pray  that  God  may  bless 
what  I  have  said  to  you,  and  that  he  may  make 
you  a  more  thoughtful  and  better  man." 

The  poor  man  listened  with  respectful  atten- 
tion. His  look  became  downcast.  "Thank 
you,  sir,"  he  said  with  much  feeling  when  his 
friend  ceased  speaking.  "It  is  very  good  for 


100  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

gentlemen  such  as  you,  to  talk  this  way  to  poor 
men  like  me." 

During  the  scarcity  of  bread,  in  1846  and 
1847,  he  employed  one  hundred  and  fifty  extra 
hands  on  small  wages ;  adding  every  Saturday 
night,  to  those  who  had  families,  what  might  be 
sufficient  to  meet  their  daily  wants.  Thousands 
he  spent  merely  to  give  employment,  for  main- 
taining men  in  idleness  he  felt  was  a  bounty 
without  a  blessing. 

Not  having  leisure  for  visiting  the  poor  as 
much  as  he  desired,  in  order  to  ascertain  their 
destitution,  and  what  kind  of  help  they  stood  in 
greatest  need  of,  he  hired  a  visitor  in  his  stead, 
a  neighbor,  who  labored  in  this  good  work, 
dropping  the  sympathies  and  the  charities  of 
the  busy  merchant  into  many  a  comfortless 
home  and  wretched  bosom. 

He  noticed,  at  one  time,  an  unusually  down- 
cast and  sad  expression  on  the  face  of  one  of 
his  men.  Finding  it  did  not  wear  off,  he  sent 
for  him  to  his  counting-room,  and  after  a  while, 
drew  from  him  the  story  of  his  secret  burden. 
"Master,  I  am  in  debt,"  said  the  poor  man  in 
tones  of  grief,  "  and  every  time  I  go  near  the 
river  something  bids  me  fling  myself  into  it, 


THE  POOR.  101 

telling  me  there's  water  enough  to  rid  me  of  all 
my  troubles,  and  that  if  I  don't  I  shall  be  sent 
into  the  prison  there  for  debt." 

Upon  farther  inquiry,  it  was  found  to  have 
grown  out  of  the  long  sickness  of  his  wife,  and 
having  assured  himself  that  the  man  had  not 
broken  the  regulation  of  a  Society  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  "Not  to  contract  a  debt  with- 
out at  least  a  reasonable  prospect  of  discharg- 
ing it,"  Mr.  Budgett  asked  him  if  the  payment 
of  his  debts  would  restore  his  peace  of  mind. 
The  man  looked  as  if  that  could  not  be. 

"  Well,  come,"  said  the  merchant,  "  I  do  not 
think  things  are  quite  so  bad  as  they  appear  to 

be.  See  here,  my  poor  fellow,  you  owe • 

pounds :  it 's  a  very  large  sum  for  a  man  like 
you,  to  be  sure ;  but  if  you  had  run  into  debt 
to  any  thing  like  this  amount  through  extrav- 
agance or  thoughtlessness,  I  should  have  re- 
garded it  as  an  act  of  dishonesty  on  your  part, 
and  I  might  have  felt  it  right  to  discharge  you. 
But  you  are  to  be  pitied,  and  not  to  be  blamed. 
Cold  pity  alone  goes  for  nothing,  so  let  us  see 
how  you  can  be  helped  out  of  your  troubles. 
Now,  do  you  think  your  creditors,  considering 
all  the  circumstances,  would  take  one  half,  and 


102  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

be  satisfied?  here  is  Dr.  Edwards,  his  bill  is  the 
heaviest ;  if  we  can  get  him  to  take  one  half — " 

"  One  half,  master  I"  exclaimed  the  poor  man ; 
"  but  if  they  would  take  one  half,  where  's  the 
money  to  come  from?  I  ar'n't  got  a  shilling 
in  the  world,  but  what 's  coming  to  me  Friday 
night;  and  when  I  take  my  wages  now,  I 
ar'n't  any  pleasure  in  looking  at  the  money,  be- 
cause it  ar'n't  my  own  ;  it  should  go  to  pay  my 
debts,  and  I 'm  obliged  to  use  it  to  buy  victuals. 
I  think  I  shall  never  be  happy  again." 

Deeply  affected  by  the  poor  man's  case,  Mr. 
Budgett  begged  him  to  cheer  up,  for  a  friend 
had  placed  in  his  hands  a  sum  equal  to  one  half 
of  his  debts  ;  he  then  sent  him  back  to  his  work, 
and  on  his  way,  to  order  his  horse  to  be  har- 
nessed, and  brought  around  to  him  in  ten  min- 
utes. Mr.  Budgett  drove  round  to  all  the 
man's  creditors,  compromised  with  them,  and 
brought  home  their  bills  receipted  in  full  for 
the  respective  debts.  The  man  was  again  sent 
for  to  the  counting-room,  and  as  bill  after 
bill  was  handed  to  him,  he  could  only  clutch 
them  with  a  stare  of  wonder  and  strange  uncer- 
tainty. 

"  But,  master,"  he  at  last  cried,  when  words 


THE  POOR.  103 

came,  "  where  's  the  money  come  from?"  "  Never 
mind  that,"  answered  his  master ;  "  go  home  and 
tell  your  wife  you  are  out  of  debt,  you  are  an 
independent  man.  I  only  hope  the  creditors 
have  felt  something  of  the  satisfaction  in  for- 
giving you  one  half  of  your  debt  to  them,  that 
we  know  God  feels  in  forgiving  our  debts  to 
him  for  Christ's  sake ;  I  have  said  that  much 
totjall  of  them." 

"  But,  master,  where 's  the  money  come  from?" 
asked  the  man,  with  a  still  puzzled  and  bewil- 
dered look. 

"  Well,  well,  I  told  you  a  Friend  had  given 
it  to  me  for  you.  You  know  that  Friend  as 
well  as  I  do.  There  now,  you  may  leave  your 
work  for  to-day;  go  home  to  your  wife,  and 
thank  that  Friend  together  for  making  you  an 
independent  man.  But  stay,  I  had  almost  for- 
gotten one  thing :  I  called  to  see  Mr.  P 

as  I  drove  through  Stoke's  Croft.  I  told  him 
the  errand  that  had  taken  me  from  home  all 
day,  and  he  gave  me  a  sovereign  for  you  to 
begin  the  world  with." 

It  would  perhaps  be  difficult  to  tell  which 
was  the  happiest,  the  master  or  his  man. 

"Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil 


104  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

the  law  of  Christ."    Is  it  a  law  we  are  suffi- 
ciently mindful  of? 

And  thus  the  current  of  Mr.  Budgett's  life 
flowed  on.  Foes,  ingratitude,  disappointments, 
crosses,  he  indeed  met  with,  but  they  never  dis- 
couraged him  from  good,  they  never  daunted 
him  in  conflicts  with  evils,  they  never  dimmed 
the  sunshiny  friendliness  of  his  nature. 

"No  pains,  no  gains,"  contains  within  itself 
the  very  elements  of  combat  and  of  victory. 
"No  cross,  no  crown/'  is  the  condition  of  our 
title  to  heaven. 

But  there  may  be  some  who  would  know 
more  of  the  inner  life  of  this  eminent  servant 
of  God.  Was  he,  so  diligent  in  business,  so 
fervent  in  spirit,  ever  subject  to  darkness  of 
mind  ?  Did  the  tempter  ever  hard  besiege  him? 
Did  a  sense  of  shortcoming  and  unprofitable- 
ness ever  obscure  his  hope  of  heaven  ?  Let  him 
answer  for  himself. 

"  KINGSWOOD  HILL,  Nov.  23,  1843. 

"Mr  DEAR  BROTHER  JAMES — I  forced  my 
heavenly  Father  to  use  the  rod,  but  I  am  aston- 
ished to  think  with  what  gentleness  he  has  cor- 
rected me.  The  first  Sunday  I  was  unwell,  I 
made  a  fresh  act  of  faith,  and  ventured  my 


INNER  LIFE.  105 

whole  soul  on  the  atonement.  My  heart  seemed 
to  have  been  broken  in  a  thousand  pieces,  and 
I  felt  like  weeping  my  life  away  for  having 
grieved  my  God.  For  the  first  week  I  held 
fast  my  confidence,  and  felt  calm  as  in  the 
hands  of  my  loving  Saviour.  But  on  the  second 
Sabbath  I  grew  much  worse,  so  that  I  had  little 
hope  of  recovery.  I  began  to  reason  with  the 
enemy,  and  let  go  my  shield  of  faith  ;  and  then 
was  truly  the  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness. 
I  can  never  describe  the  bitter  anguish  I  felt 
on  reviewing  my  past  life,  and  great  horror  arid 
gloom  came  over  my  mind  with  the  thoughts  of 
being  but  just  saved  as  by  the  skin  of  my  teeth, 
or  of  appearing  before  my  Maker  as  an  unprof- 
itable servant,  or  perhaps  of  being  a  wander- 
ing spirit  cast  out  from  God  for  ever. 

"  My  agony  of  mind  was  such  that  I  thought 
I  was  dying,  and  really  fainted  away.  I  then 
recovered,  and  then  tried  to  recover  my  shield 
of  faith;  but  on  Monday  morning,  Satan  was 
again  permitted  to  buffet  inc,  and  the  conflict 
was  extreme.  My  dear  sister  Elizabeth  then 
came  to  my  assistance,  and  said  I  was  doing  very 
wrong  ;  that  I  ought  to  come  to  the  Saviour  as 
at  first  I  came,  and  that  she  believed  I  would 


106  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

recover ;  but  that  if  I  died,  I  was  safe  for  heaven. 
I  immediately  took  courage,  and  said,  '  Lord,  I 
did  believe,  and  was  happy  ;  and  thou  hast  said, 
'  Him  that  cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out.'  I  come,  I  believe — I  will,  I  do  believe.' 
My  heart  seemed  melted  to  tenderness,  and  the 
name  of  Jesus  was  exceedingly  precious.  Sis- 
ter Elizabeth  then  said,  '  Cannot  you  now  put 
in  your  claim  for  the  blessing  of  full  salvation  ? 
Remember  the  promise,  'I  will  circumcise  thy 
heart.' '  I  said, '  I  am  suffering  all  this,  because 
I  would  not  take  the  necessary  pains  to  obtain 
that  blessing,  when  that  very  promise  was  so 
often  and  so  powerfully  impressed  on  my  mind ; 
and  it  was  so  clearly  my  duty  to  obtain,  to 
enjoy,  and  to  preach  that  great  and  glorious 
gospel  privilege  to  others.  I  could  not  hold 
fast  even  a  sense  of  my  acceptance  with  God, 
or  overcome  various  temptations  to  sin,  and  it 
is  of  the  Lord's  mercies  that  I  am  not  con- 
sumed ;'  but  when  sister  Elizabeth  said,  '  Put  in 
your  claim  now,'  I  cried,  '  Lord,  thou  hast  said, 
'  I  will  circumcise/  etc. ;  now  fulfil  thine  own 
word  ;  I  hang  upon  thy  word  ;  thou  wilt  do  it. 
I  dare  believe.'  I  did  not  struggle  long  before 
my  heart  seemed  deeply  humbled,  filled  with 


INNER  LIFE. 

love  unutterable  to  God  and  all  mankind.  I 
however,  could  not  entertain  an  idea  that  God 
could  spare  my  life  ;  and  though  I  felt  safe  and 
happy,  I  could  not  feel  willing  to  die,  even  to 
go  to  heaven,  with  such  a  consciousness  of  un- 
faithfulness up  to  the  eleventh  hour,  and  ear- 
nestly prayed,  '  Oh,  spare  me  a  little,  that  I  may 
recover  strength  before  I  go  hence,  to  be  here 
no  more.'  On  the  following  morning  my  dear 
wife  came  into  my  room  with  the  Bible  in  her 
hand,  saying, '  I  have  just  opened  upon  this  pas- 
sage :  '  For  my  name's  sake  will  I  defer  mine 
anger,  and  for  my  praise  will  I  refrain  for  thee, 
that  I  cut  thee  not  off.  Behold,  I  have  refined 
thee,  but  not  with  silver ;  I  have  chosen  thee 
in  the  furnace  of  affliction.'  Isaiah  48  :  9,  10.' 
Never  did  Scripture  so  powerfully  impress  my 
mind.  I  said,  'It  is  the  word  of  God  to  me, 
in  answer  to  his  servant's  prayers ;  I  shall  not 
die,  but  live.' 

"  From  that  time  I  never  entertained  a  doubt 
but  that  I  should  have  another  opportunity  of 
preaching  salvation,  full  salvation  by  Jesus 
Christ,  to  every  one  who  will  put  in  their  claim 
for  it.  My  mind  has  since  been  kept  in  perfect 
peace,  and  I  have  been  gradually  recovering. 


108  NO  TAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

"  Now,  my  dear  brother  James,  my  object  in 
being  thus  minute  in  the  description  is,  first  to 
lead  you,  as  you  would  avoid  the  gloom,  the 
horror,  the  anguish,  such  as  no  tongue  can  tell, 
or  the  more  tremendous  consequences,  of  being 
hurried  out  of  time  into  eternity  ;  as  you  would 
enjoy  this  life  tenfold  more  than  you  possibly 
can  without  it ;  as  you  would  be  unspeakably 
happy,  safe,  useful,  and  rising  daily  in  refine- 
ment and  elevation  of  character ;  and  as  you 
would  have  a  glorious  entrance  administered 
to  you  among  the  saints  in  light :  in  a  word, 
as  you  would  escape  hell,  and  gain  heaven  se- 
curely, that  you  at  once  give  the  Lord  your 
whole  heart,  and  accept  his  full  salvation.  This, 
my  dear  brother,  is  much  easier  than  doing  it 
by  halves.  I  am,  my  dear  brother,  most  affec- 
tionately, yours,  "  s.  B.v 

In  Edwin  the  second  son,  appeared,  more 
than  in  any  other  of  the  children,  the  marked 
traits  of  his  father.  In  business,  sagacity,  de- 
cision, and  promptness.  At  home,  he  was  the 
obedient  child,  and  loving  brother ;  at  the  Sun- 
day-school, a  faithful  teacher ;  in  the  prayer- 
meeting,  "fervent,  devout,  and  prevailing;'' 


A  SUDDEN  STROKE.  109 

among  the  poor,  the  sympathizing,  active,  per- 
sonal friend  and  helper.  His  buoyant  spirits, 
his  joyous  smile,  his  unaffected  piety,  his  sweet 
song,  made  him  a  delightful  companion  to  the 
young  and  the  old.  Never,  perhaps,  was  there 
a  more  beautiful  example  of  household  religion 
than  that  in  which  he  was  reared,  and  no 
branch  of  the  parent  stock  was  more  vigorous, 
more  fruitful,  more  full  of  promise,  than  he. 
He  was  a  young  man  whom  the  church  could 
not  afford  to  lose,  and  whom  the  world  stood  in 
need  of. 

Never  perhaps,  in  this  Christian  family,  was 
their  cup  more  full  of  blessing,  than  when  the 
summer  sun  of  1849  shone  upon  them.  Peace, 
prosperity,  and  health,  were  theirs,  thankfully 
received,  and  humbly  enjoyed. 

The  Sabbath  of  July  22d,  found  Edwin,  as 
usual,  doing  and  getting  good.  The  Sabbath- 
school  and  the  house  of  God  saw  him  at  his 
post  of  duty,  and  place  of  worship.  In  the 
evening,  the  brothers  sang  together,  as  they 
often  did ;  and  in  the  following  lines  from  a 
hymn  of  Charles  Wesley,  their  voices  seemed 
to  rise  with  more  than  common  fervor  and 
devotion : 


110  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

"  How  happy  every  child  of  grace 

Who  knows  his  sins  forgiven  : 
This  earth,  he  cries,  is  not  my  place, 

I  seek  my  place  in  heaven, 
A  country  far  from  mortal  sight ; 

Yet  0,  by  faith  I  see 
The  land  of  rest,  the  saint's  delight, 

The  heaven  prepai-ed  for  me. 

Then  let  me  suddenly  remove, 

That  hidden  life  to  share ; 
I  shall  not  lose  my  friends  above, 

But  more  enjoy  them  there. 
There  we  in  Jesus'  praise  shall  join, 

His  boundless  love  proclaim ; 
And  solemnize  in  songs  divine, 

The  marriage  of  the  Lamb." 

The  father,  about  leaving  the  room  at  the 
beginning  of  the  second  verse,  lingered  at  the 
door  deeply  affected,  and  awed  by  the  new 
beauty  and  significance  which  the  words  and 
the  music  seemed  to  possess.  There  was  an 
expression  in  Edwin's  voice  which  showed  his 
own  soul  kindling  in  sympathy  with  the  feel- 
ings of  the  pious  poet. 

On  Thursday  evening,  he  was  at  his  class- 
meeting,  a  meeting  for  prayer  and  religious 
fellowship,  and  when  asked  if  he  could  testify 
that  he  was  assuredly  born  again,  made  a  child 


A  SUDDEN  STROKE.  Ill 

of  God  and  heir  of  heaven,  "  I  feel  thankful," 
he  answered  humbly,  "  that  I  do  know  that  I 
am  a  child  of  God.  I  have  had  in  the  past 
week  seasons  of  communion  with  him,  and  de- 
sire more  constantly  to  realize  his  presence,  and 
live  to  his  glory." 

Two  days  after  this,  Edwin  was  dead;  he 
died  of  cholera.  How  did  the  father  bear  this 
heavy  stroke? 

"  The  moment  he  either  saw  or  felt  the  rod," 
his  minister  tells  us,  "'/have  sinned'  was  on 
his  lips,  or  in  the  depths  of  his  heart.  The 
dread  evening  when  his  beloved  son  was  writh- 
ing in  the  grasp  of  the  disease,  leaving  him  in 
other  hands,  he  meets  his  class,  and  then  takes 
a  poor  intelligent  pious  man,  a  local  preacher, 
'  his  own  son  in  the  faith/  and  returns  in  dark- 
ness to  the  lone  summer-house  in  his  extensive 
lawn,  and  they  long  continued  wrestling  to- 
gether, 'with  strong  crying  and  tears ;'  the  per- 
sonal dread  of  His  wrath  who  is  '  glorious  in 
holiness,'  absorbing  the  anguish  of  the  parent's 
natural  affection.  Returning  in  the  advanced 
night  to  his  afflicted  dwelling,  with  the  cry, 
My  sins,  my  sins  are  the  cause  of  all  this!' 
his  pious  children  gather  around  him,  and  all 


112  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

in  succession,  from  the  oldest  to  the  youngest, 
are  heard  pleading  with  God  for  their  father's 
consolation  and  deliverance.  This  piercing 
apprehension  of  the  evil  of  sin,  with  the  power- 
fully healing  balm  of  divine  grace,  given  pre- 
eminently in  answer  to  the  '  prayer  of  faith,' 
prepared  him  and  his  family  for  such  a  mani- 
festation of  piety  as  I  do  not  recollect  ever  to 
have  witnessed. 

"A  few  days  afterwards,  returning  from  the 
conference,  expecting  on  entering  his  dwelling 
to  enter  a  cloud  '  whose  darkness  might  be  felt/ 
what  was  my  surprise  to  find  it  a  true  dwelling 
of  an  Israelite,  'all  light  within.1  The  dark- 
ness was  outside ;  here  they  all  walked  in  the 
light  of  the  Lord,  and  all  tears  were  wiped 
from  every  eye.  I  beheld,  and  was  edified.  I 
wondered,  and  shall  never  forget.  Mr.  Bud- 
gett  not  only  murmured  not,  but  was  ceaseless 
in  praises  that  he  and  his  family  had  been  dealt 
with  so  mercifully.  I  knew  how  he  loved  his 
son,  and  what  he  expected  from  him." 

"  We  are  yet,  though  suffering  under  a  most 
painful  bereavement,  a  happy  family,"  Mr. 
Budgett  himself  says ;  "yes,  the  peace  of  God, 
that  passeth  all  human  understanding,  does 


HAPPY  ENDING.  113 

keep  our  hearts  and  minds  through  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ.  It  would  be  impossible  to  tell 
you  how  precious  Christ  is  to  us  in  this  time  of 
severe  trial.  "We  have  this  morning  enjoyed  a 
gracious  visitation  from  our  heavenly  Father, 
while  we  all,  the  whole  family,  knelt  and  prayed 
that  this  stroke  might  be  fully  sanctified." 

Thus  was  gladness  put  into  his  heart  "more 
than  in  the  time  that  his  corn  and  his  wine 
increased." 

But  the  separation  between  the  father  and 
son  was  not  to  be  measured  by  years.  In  a 
little  more  than  a  year,  the  shadow  of  death 
again  crept  over  this  household.  We  would 
stay  its  progress,  and  pray  for  the  continuance 
of  such  a  life;  but  our  times  are  in  His  hand 
who  killeth  and  maketh  alive,  who  woundeth 
and  healeth. 

In  November  of  1850,  Mr.  Budgett's  health 
began  to  decline;  for  some  months  disease 
sk>wly  but  surely  crept  into,  and  fastened  itself 
upon  his  once  vigorous  and  stout  frame.  It 
was  dropsy.  "Week  by  week,  and  day  by  day, 
he  failed.  Though  its  progress  was  sometimes 
slackened,  it  was  never  stopped.  The  winter 
he  passed  without  much  physical  suffering,  and 


114  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

he  welcomed  once  more  the  opening  beauties 
of  the  spring,  but  he  was  then  hastening  to  a 
spring  of  immortal  green. 

"When  I  look  round  on  my  family  and  the 
church,  I  feel  as  if  life  would  still  be  a  blessing," 
says  the  sick  merchant.  "I  am  not  one  of  those 
who  are  weary  of  the  world,  nor  do  I  feel  any 
sympathy  with  such  ;  but  when  I  look  at  my- 
self as  an  individual,  I  feel  Tt  were  better  to  go. 

ut There  is  my  house,  my  portion  fair, 
My  treasure  and  my  heart  are  there, 
And  my  abiding  home/ 

"But  I  did  not  feel  like  this  at  the  beginning 
of  my  sickness  ;  then  I  felt  my  own  unfaithful- 
ness had  been  so  great,  I  wished  to  be  spared  a 
few  years  longer,  that  I  might  better  prepare 
for  heaven  ;  but  I  have  been  led  to  see  I  could 
do  nothing  to  merit  heaven. 

"'In  my  hand  BO  price  I  bring, 
Simply  to  thy  cross,  I  cling.' 

I  trust  now  in  the  merits  of  my  Saviour,  in 
his  atoning  blood.  I  feel  that  it  is  not  by 
works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done, 
but  of  his  mercy  hath  he  saved  us.n 

"I  have  passed  a  pleasant  night,  but  feel 
myself  getting  weaker,"  he  again  says.  "My 


HAPPY  ENDING.  115 

stay  on  earth  will  be  short.  I  shall  soon  ar- 
rive at  home  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to 
think  we  shall  be  an  unbroken  family  in  heaven. 
My  father's  family  are  many  of  them  gone ; 
the  rest  are  on  the  way.  A  part  of  my  own 
family  are  in  heaven.  Oh,  how  thin  does  the 
veil  now  appear  which  separates  earth  from 
heaven." 

Are  his  worldly  affairs  in  order? 

"  I  have  not  a  paper  to  sign,  not  a  shilling 
to  give  away,  not  a  book  but  any  one  may  un- 
derstand in  ten  minutes,"  he  answers.  "  I  feel 
as  if  I  were  a  poor  sinner,  saved  through  my 
dear  mother's  prayers,  the  prayers  of  my  friends, 
and  my  own  poor  feeble  prayers  offered  through 
Christ.  He  cannot  cast  me  off,  but  has  gently 
guided  me  through  the  wilderness,  and  is  keep- 
ing me  there  till  I  am  perfected  through  suf- 
fering." 

"  In  the  vigor  of  life,  how  hard  to  bring  our 
minds  to  believe  we  must  suffer.  But  the  Lord 
has  brought  me  to  a  death-bed,  and  I  this  day," 
he  says,  with  a  sweet  trust,  "  hang  like  a  little 
child  in  a  brook,  catching  hold  of  a  branch 
that  is  thrown  out  to  save  it,  only  there  is  this 
one  difference  in  my  case :  I  hang  upon  the 


116  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

branch  of  Jesse's  stem.  Christ  will  keep  me.  I 
am  safe." 

"  Do  you  feel  that  your  heavenly  Father  can 
make  you  enjoy  affliction?". asked  a  friend  by 
his  bedside. 

"  O  yes ;  I  do  now,"  expresses  the  ripening 
saint.  "I  don't  feel  myself  like  a  sick  man; 
I  feel  that  I  am  luxuriating  in  God's  presence. 
The  room  seems  filled  with  God.  So  calm,  so 
beautiful."  Then  did  he  unconsciously  slide 
into  prayer :  "  Lord,  I  am  thine  ;  thou  art  mine. 
I  have  made  a  covenant  with  thee ;  I  would 
not  break  it  for  a  thousand  worlds.  Lord, 
keep  me,  baptize  me  anew ;  help  me  to  rejoice 
more  fully  in  thee. 

"  Jesus,  my  great  High-priest, 

Offered  his  blood,  and  died ; 
My  guilty  conscience  seeks 

No  sacrifice  beside. 
His  powerful  blood  did  once  atone, 
And  now  it  pleads  before  the  throne." 

Talking  one  day  with  the  young  wife  of  his 
son  James  :  "  I  should  like  to  have  lived  a  lit- 
tle longer  for  your  sake.  Sometimes  I  feel  as 
if  I  should  like  to  look  forward  and  trace  your 
course  through  life.  But  I  can,  and  do  com- 


HAPPY  ENDING.  117 

mend  you  to  the  care  of  our  heavenly  Father. 
He  will  guide  you  aright.  Oh,  'in  all  your 
ways  acknowledge  him,  and  he  will  direct  your 
steps.'"  Looking  earnestly  at  her,  he  said, 
'"Let  your  eye  be  single,  then  your  body  shall 
be  full  of  light :'  mind,  keep  a  single  eye ;  in  all 
the  events  of  life,  keep  a  single  eye." 

"You  are  entering  life  under  very  different 
circumstances  with  regard  to  temporal  things, 
from  what  I  did,"  he  said  to  his  son  William, 
one  day ;  "  pursue  the  same  course  that  I  have 
done,  and  your  way  is  made ;  but  let  there  be 
this  difference :  where  I  have  followed  trifles, 
you  follow  the  dictates  of  the  Spirit ;  wherein 
I  have  followed  my  senses,  you  cleave  close  to 
God,  and  all  will  be  well.  I  can't  say  with 
the  apostle,  'I  have  fought  a  good  fight,'  for  I 
have  not.  I  have  been  unfaithful,  but  there  is 
atonement  through  Jesus.  I  can  say,  I  have 
almost '  finished  my  course ;'  henceforth  there  is 
laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at 
that  day." 

On  being  told,  after  an  evening  service,  how 
fervently  he  had  been  prayed  for,  "Oh,"  he 
said,  "they  will  not  have  to  pray  for  me  again ; 


118  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

before  another  month  goes  round,  I  shall  be  in 
a  better  country." 

"How  delightful,"  remarked  a  friend  near, 
"  is  the  thought  that  you  will  so  soon  be  there. 
There  you  will  have  a  harp  of  gold,  be  clothed 
in  white  raiment,  and  have  a  crown  upon  your 
head." 

"Yes,"  responded  the  dying  saint,  "I  like  to 
hear  of  the  beauties  of  heaven,  but  I  do  not 
dwell  upon  them ;  no,  what  I  rejoice  in  is,  that 
Christ  will  be  there.  Where  he  is,  there  shall  I 
also  be.  I  know  that  he  is  in  me,  and  I  in  him. 
I  shall  see  him  as  he  is ;  I  delight  in  knowing 
that." 

On  Sunday,  April  20,  the  communion  was 
administered  to  him  ;  and  he  ate  the  bread 
and  drank  the  wine  of  the  new  covenant  for 
the  last  time  with  his  family  on  earth.  It  was 
a  day  of  holy  solemnities,  and  a  foretaste  of 
heavenly  blessedness. 

"This  is  the  happiest  day  of  my  life,"  he 
whispered,  as  it  drew  to  a  close  ;  "  the  happiest 
hour.  I  am  ready  to  go  this  moment,  or  ready 
to  stay.  Oh,  how  would  I  preach,  if  I  could 
preach  now  1" 

"He  bade  his  ministers  an  affectionate  fare- 


HAPPY  ENDING.  119 

well,"  so  writes  a  friend  who  was  with  him ; 
and  on  one  of  them  repeating  the  lines, 

"  I  the  chief  of  sinners  am, 
But  Jesus  died  for  me," 

he  fervently  responded  to  the  sentiment,  and 
added,  "I  never  asked  for  joy;  I  always 
thought  myself  unworthy  of  it;  but  he  has 
given  me  more  than  I  asked." 

"  He  giveth  exceeding  abundantly,  above  all 
we  ask  or  think,"  said  one. 

"Thank  God,  thank  God,"  ejaculated  the 
dying  believer.  After  the  ministers  retired,  he 
requested  another  hymn  might  be  sung.  On 
Edwin's  favorite  being  selected,  "  How  happy 
every  child  of  grace,"  he  said,  "  Yes ;  and  Ed- 
win will  join  us."  He  united  most  heartily  in 
the  singing,  and  desired  another  hymn,  when 
it  was  thought  too  much  excitement  might  hurt 
him. 

"  Oh,  no,"  he  said ;  "  nothing  will  hurt  me 
now,  I  am  going  home ;  nothing  can  hurt  me 
now." 

He  lingered  a  week  longer  in  close  and 
delightful  communion  with  his  Lord,  ready  to 
abide  his  will,  and  then  went  home  to  the  Be- 
loved of  his  soul. 


120  NO  PAINS,  NO  GAINS. 

Samuel  Budget!  died  April,  1851,  aged  57. 

His  family  lost  a  father  whom  they  delighted 
to  honor ;  Kingswood  Hill,  a  godly  neighbor,  - 
and  a  generous  friend  ;  Bristol,  a  princely  mer- 
chant ;  the  church  of  Christ,  a  shining  member ; 
England,  a  Christian  citizen  ;  but  the  world 
has  found  a  new  evangelist,  who  shall  go  forth 
in  her  highways  and  by-ways,  to  the  shop  and 
the  counting-room,  to  the  master  and  his  men, 
to  the  poor  and  the  rich,  to  preach,  by  his  ex- 
ample, with  no  common  power,  the  duty  of 
laboring  for  Christ  as  the  great  Bibk  law  of 
increase  in  temporal,  moral,  and  spiritual  good. 

"  The  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh  rich." 

"  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it 
with  thy  might." 

"  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate ;  for 
many  shall  seek  to  enter  in,  and  shall  not  be 
able." 

"  Work  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling ;  for  it  is  God  who  worketh  in  you, 
to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure." 


i%  ^mmrmi  feet 

PUBLISH  A  LARGE  SELECTION 

OF 

THE  MOST  CHOICE  PRACTICAL  WORKS 

tNTHE 

ENGLISH  LANGUAGE; 

';t;v*j*!  }?.-•*  •        ;  .: 

EMBODIED  IN  THE 

RELIGIOUS  (OR  PASTOR'S)  LIBRARY, 
25  Vols.  $10. 

EVANGELICAL  FAMILY  LIBRARY, 

15  Vols.  $5  50. 
And  the  continuation  comprising  21  Vols.  $7  50. 

BESIDES 
MORE  THAN  ONE  THOUSAND 

•Boofe  wb  Ihjcte  fo'r  01 


MANY  OP  THEM 


BEAUTIFULLY  ILLUSTRATED. 


LATELY  PUBLISHED 

BT  THE 

AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


REV.  JEREMIAH  HALLOCK, 
REV.   PHILIP   HENRY, 

WILLIAM  TUTTLE, 

LADY  HUNTINGTON  AND  HER  FRIENDS, 
MRS.   MARTHA  SHERMAN. 

A1SO 

ISABELLA  GRAHAM,  HARRIET  L.  WINSLOW, 
SARAH  L.  HUNTINGTON  SMITH, 

DR.  PAYSON,  JAMES  BRAINERD  TAYLOR, 
NORMAND  SMITH, 

AND 

HARLAN  PAGE. 

AXD 

A   GREAT  VARIETY 

OF 

»<DIR  OTB  TOOT®, 

BEAUTIFULLY  ILLUSTRATED. 


THE  FAMILY  TESTAMENT, 

With  brief  Notes  and  Instructions,  and  Maps. 
PREPARED  BY  REV.  JUSTIN  EDWARDS,  D.  D. 

With  the  counsel  and  aid  of  the  Members  of  the  Publishing 

Committee. 
Price  60  cents,  or  80  gilt. 

OLD  TESTAMENT,  Vol.  I.  Genesis  to  Job.    75  cents. 

SACRED  SONGS 
For  Family  and  Social  Worship. 

Selected  by  Prof.  HASTINGS,  with  the  counsel  of  LOWELI, 
MASON,  Esq.,  for  general  and  permanent  use;  containing 
320  hymns,  and  182  tunes ;  12mo,  55  cents. 

SONGS  OF  ZION. 

A  smaller  selection  of  93  favorite  tunes  with  hymns,  which 
is  gaining  a  wide  circulation ;  25  cents. 

THE  GENERAL  SERIES  OF  TRACTS, 

Is  issued  in  a  new  edition  of  twelve  volumes,  with  fine  en- 
gravings.   Price  $6  00. 

THIRTEEN  PACKETS  OF  SELECT  TRACTS 

Are  also  issued  in  a  convenient  form  for  booksellers  and 
others,  at  25  cents  a  Packet  of  376  pages  each 

PICTORIAL  NARRATIVES. 

Twenty-four  Tracts  selected  for  the  masses  of  readers ; 
248  pages,  12mo,  35  cents,  or  50  gilt. 

fttyelricqi)  Jl^ef  $ocieflj, 

NEW  YORK,  150  NASSAU-STREET;  BOSTON,  28  CORNHILL; 
PHILADELPHIA,  303  CHESTNUT-STREET. 


UCSB  UBRMff 


A     000  605  479     5 


